Set Fire to the Rain
by BB-Hodgela-slaudia-forever
Summary: You don't know what you have until it's gone. When he's gone, she's left to pick up the pieces of his son, who has more going on than his father ever knew about. It's up to her to save him. Post the Critic in the Cabernet
1. I let it fall, my heart

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, wish I did. So instead I just love them to death.**

**A/N: This is my first Bones fanfiction, so dont hate me if it's terrible. I hope at least some of you like it enough to review! : ) **

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><p>"<em>If anything happens to me, I want you to use my stuff and have a kid. And if the day comes where I'm not around, look after Parker for me, Bones. He loves you."<em>

Brennan knew it wasn't necessary to cry as she had been doing for the last several days, crying was a way to cleanse the optical lenses and that was why people needed a good cry every once and a while. At least that's what Booth had once told her. Her heart, metaphorically, shattered as she thought of Booth. She heard the footfall of several people walking up the platform, but she knew that if she turned she would only be disappointed in not seeing the man with the strong mandible and prominent zeugmatic. Instead she continued to squint at the bones on her table.

"Bren…"

"Dr. B."

"Dr. Brennan."

"Tempe."

All of her different names were called out, except for the one she wanted to hear most. _Bones. _She now felt almost stupid at the thought that she once reprimanded him for calling her that, but he continued to do it. He was so persistent. She felt a hand wrap around her forearm. She knew they were attempting to get her attention away from the femur she was holding.

"Tempe, it's time for the funeral, you need to come along. Angela was planning on taking you back to your place and helping you get dressed."

"I am not some child who needs help. I cannot go; this victim needs to be identified."

Momentarily, Angela was hurt that her best friend didn't want her help, but she regained her confidence. Brennan was hurting from the loss of her 'partner' and she had to be there to help her through.

"Bren, he's been dead for one-hundred years, I think he can wait for a few more hours."

"I don't want to go; I don't want to go to some religious ritual to celebrate Booth's life when he never should've died in the first place."

She listened as Sweets spoke his physiological mumbo-jumbo, just another thing she learned from Booth. Angela watched her best friend closely before making an executive decision.

"Guys can you give me and Bren a minute. We need to talk."

Brennan watched as everyone left the platform and waited by the door. She scoffed at the fact that they thought Ange could convince her to do anything.

"Ange, I really feel like my time would be better spent here, trying to identify this victim."

"Look I know why you don't want to go; you think it's your fault that you didn't speak to the surgeon about a mistake he may have made during surgery. It's not though; he probably wouldn't listen to you anyways. If you don't want to go for the dead, go for the living, go for me."

"Why do you need me there?"

"Because I've gone through about three boxes of tissues and I need you there for support."

Brennan gently placed the femur on the autopsy table and grabbed her trench coat from the chair. She and Angela walked down the stairs and met their oddly formed family at the door. Brennan could not help but notice how an important member was missing.

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><p>When the group arrived, Brennan noticed Rebecca, Drew and Parker standing near the coffin. <em>"Take care of him, he loves you." <em>The little boy looked like he had been crying much like Brennan and, now in her knowledge, Angela had been. When she got out of Angela's car, Parker was the first one to notice her.

"Bones!"

The six year old ran to her and she kneeled to take him into her arms. They stayed like this for a while and for some time she felt like Booth was standing behind her watching the scene in front of him. But it wasn't true and that's what hurt her. This entire situation was not logical and she hated that. When Parker pulled away, she was taken aback. In the first year of life, a child was meant to look like their father, anthropologically speaking it was so they would not abandon the child, but Parker still looked like the exact image of his father.

"Hi Parker."

He smiled at her as she pushed back his long blond hair. She felt Angela's presence next to her. She rose to her feet, but kept a hand on her on biological tie to Booth.

"Hey baby Booth."

Angela said ruffling his hair.

"Ange."

She was about to reprimand her friend for reminding the little boy of his father.

"Chill Bren."

She went back in her head for the time Booth taught her about the word 'chill' and it's many definitions, but she was beginning to think he never taught her. She shot her friend a questioning look, which Angela did not notice, but Parker did.

"It means calm down, Bones. And hi Angela."

Brennan was surprised by the tone of his voice; it was exactly like Booth's. The way it was soft and gentle, so that she did not feel stupid for not understanding the slang of today's world.

As the funeral proceeded, she took a spot next to Rebecca and Parker stood between them, but when Parker required comfort he turned to her instead of his mother something that surprised Brennan. Angela kept their arms linked with Hodgins on her other side. Brennan listened carefully to the man who preached about Booth and his life. It disgusted her to know that this man didn't know her Seeley Joseph Booth, he didn't know Booth.

So what gave him the right to say anything good or bad about her Booth?

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><p>The squints made plans to go to the Founding Father's for a round of drinks in honor of Booth. Before Angela and Brennan left, though, Brennan had to say goodbye to Parker. Instead, he held onto his "Bones" and begged her not to go.<p>

"Bones, please don't go. Come home with me, mommy and Drew. Don't leave like daddy did."

Brennan looked up at Rebecca and Angela from her kneeling state. She grabbed Parker's hand before getting up.

"Can I take him over there really quick? I need to talk to him."

Her eyes shifted to a bench about twenty feet away from where they were standing, she was hoping she could talk to Parker about his father without other people standing there and listening. Rebecca nodded and Brennan took Parker to the bench leaving Rebecca, Drew, and Angela standing there awkwardly. Brennan sat on the bench while Parker stood in front of her.

"You know your dad loved you a lot Parker."

Although that she believed love was just a chemical reaction, she had never experienced the love a parent held for a child so maybe that kind of reaction was different than all others. For a second she mused on using Booth's semen for a child, there was enough for several children if the procedure worked on the first try.

"And before he went in for surgery he asked me to look after you if anything were to happen to him. I plan on fulfilling that promise to him if you let me. He never wanted to leave you, but you were the last thing on his mind before the doctors gave him the medicine."

She was so thankful for the time she received with Booth or else this conversation with his young son would not have been going so well. She did not know what the last thought Booth had was, but she had learned that all that mattered was making Parker feel better.

"I don't wanna lose you too, Bones. Can I still call you that even though it was dad's name for you? If I have a bad dream can I call you like I used to with dad?"

She didn't give these questions a second to process like she normally did with all questions, instead she answered the child she had grown to care about much more than she ever had with any other person.

"Of course, yes to all of those questions. If you ever need me Parker, I will be there as soon as I can."

He wrapped his arms around Brennan's neck and held on tight. She responded. She had always been thankful for this little boy and his teaching ways just like his father. He was just like his father.

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><p>It was eleven-thirty by the time Angela dropped Brennan off at her apartment. She had only had one shot and so did Angela so both of them felt very comfortable to drive home. The second she took her coat off her phone rang so she ran to grab it.<p>

"Hello.?"

"_Temperance, I'm sorry for calling so late, but Parker just had a nightmare and he only wants you. He only cries louder when Drew or I walk into the room. I understand if you can't come-"_

"No, I'm grabbing my keys as we speak, I'll be there in ten minutes tops."

"_Thank you, Temperance."_

For one second she started to believe that maybe Booth's God did exist, but when she heard Parker's cries in the background she knew for sure he did not exist.


	2. And as it fell, you rose to claim it

**Disclaimer: I'm already sick of these things. I don't own Bones, most likely never will.**

**A/N: Thank you to those who reviewed! In this chapter you'll see more of Parker's home life, or lack thereof. In advance, please know that I do not like Rebecca and it will most likely shine through in this chapter. Please read and review!**

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><p>She had made it to Rebecca's house in a record time of six and half minutes, there was no using her cruise control option like she used when Booth allowed her to drive to a crime scene. This was something different. She wondered how many nights Rebecca allowed Booth to do this, allowed him to come and comfort his son when Parker asked for him. From the very beginning, she had witnessed how terrible Rebecca had been to Booth and if there was a life after death she hoped Rebecca went to hell for not being kind and compassionate to the father of her son.<p>

The door was opened quickly for her by Drew, who looked like he was drunk by his large pupils and pale complexion. She pondered asking him where Rebecca was, but dismissed the thought and instead rushed to Parker's room without so much as a second glance to the man. She knocked first on the white door, but when she heard the cry of the eight year she rushed in. She was surprised because that was not like her, she told herself it was an adrenaline rush and made her way to Parker.

"Parker."

Her voice was barely a whisper, as she examined the room. She had never been in an six year old's room, except for her and Russ' as children. It was clean and looked like Parker barely occupied the space. She shook her head as thoughts invaded her mind. This was how all of her rooms had looked when she was in the system, because she never had more than a few possessions. It was a stupid thought because she knew Parker had lived here his whole life so maybe he was just the opposite of his father: clean.

"Bones, you came."

From Booth's teachings she heard how he sounded so surprised, almost like her promises to him meant nothing, but they did. She was about to speak until she saw his mouth opening.

"Mom said she'd call you, but I didn't believe her."

Brennan went to sit with him on his bed and wiped the sweat from his brow before gracing his templ with a kiss. She noticed a large dark hand print on his forearm, it was bruising but from her knowledge she knew that it came from tonight. The print was big making it a man's.

"She called me and I immediately came. Why wouldn't she call me?"

Her curiosity got the best of her, as she knew that sometimes Booth would go two whole weeks without speaking with his son, because Rebecca would simply not allow him to talk with Parker. She never understood it, because Parker spaking with his father would cause no harm.

"She used to do it with daddy, she said she'd call and then I would come out of my room looking for the phone and she would have gone to bed or just said she called and daddy didn't answer, but her phone would be no where in sight. Drew drinks after I go to bed so I knew I couldn't ask him to do it."

She wrapped her arms around 'baby Booth' as Angela affectionately called him. This child had tried to reach out to his father on several occasions and Booth would never know that because he was gone. Booth had often doubted that Parker loved him, because he would never speak with him. Oh how she longed to be able to tell Booth that Parker wanted him, but because of Rebecca never got him.

"Your mom says you had a nightmare. What was it about?"

Brennan had her fair share of nightmares in her thirty-two years of life. The most recent had been good dreams that had turned into nightmares. Such as her, Booth, Parker, and their baby on Halloween. When she woke up though, there was no Booth and no texts from him from the previous night. That was when she once again had to remember that her Booth was not alive anymore.

"It was happy, Bones. Dad and I were playing hockey and you were there watching us, cheering even though we both could tell you really didn't know what was going on. My team beat the other team so all of us, even all the squints went to the diner for a celebration. You and dad announced that you were a couple and that made me so happy. It was perfect-well actually dad said nothing can be completely perfect, so it was as close to perfect as possible. Then I woke up and I was happy, Bones, because I thought it was all still real, then I realized everything. That dad was gone.."

She gave him a tight squeeze, she was trying so hard for Booth to make his little boy feel better, but she didn't know if it was working or not. She still had a lot to learn from Booth and now that he was not there she would have to learn all on her own. She was a quick study under a teacher, but she did not know how she would fare without one.

"Parker, I know this is really hard, because you loved your dad so much-"

"Did you love him, Bones?"

She was caught off guard by the inquisitive child and the question that had plagued her and Booth for years. The logical answer would be to tell him that love did not actually exist, to give him all the facts. Facts wer things that Brennan knew and things she knew Parker enjoyed to hear, but now was not the time, she knew that. So she had to listen to her gut, as Booth had told her many times before.

"Yes, Parker, I loved your father very much."

"Then why didn't you and dad get together if you loved him and he loved you/ He told me that, did you know? He told me he loved you lots. Like this much."

He spread his arms apart as far as they could go and she assumed that was to emphasize his point. She smiled at him, to humor him. She knew Booth loved her, but she had been dumb, if that was even possible, and pushed Booth away. She missed him, she missed him a lot.

"I don't know why we didn't get together Parker, it's just very complicated."

"Is it like complicated enough, that you can't explain it until I have hair under my arms?"

She knew that was Booth's standard for everything. He wasn't allowed to see the bones on the autopsy table, go out into the field to see a body, or talk about sex until he had hair on his axilla.

"Yes it is that complicated. Now why don't we get you tucked in so that I can go back home and sleep. I have work tomorrow and you have school, you've missed a few days so you'll definitely have to get caught up."

Rebecca had pulled him out of school the day of Booth's surgery and when the doctor called Brennan and Rebecca back to give his sympathy Rebecca told her that she would be keeping Parker out of school until the funeral to give him ample time to grieve.

"Is…is Drew doing bills tonight?"

She looked down to him as she pulled the blanket up to his elbows. Her eyebrows rose in confusion and she tried to remember when he had opened the door for her. She then remembered he had a bill in his hand.

"Why yes, I believe so. Why, Parker?"

"Can you stay with me please? Drew gets angry when he does bills and he yells, it scares me."

She looked to the door and then to the watch on her hand. It was almost two o'clock in the morning. She knew Parker had to get up in approximately four hours and there was no point in leaving if Parker wasn't going to get any sleep. So she took off her shoes and coat by his bedroom door, before climbing into his bed.

"Goodnight Parker, sleep well."

"Goodnight Bones. I love you."

For a second she was speechless, but she wrapped her arm around him and brought him to her abdomen. She kissed the back of his head.

"I love you too, Parker."

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><p>She was the first to wake up but did not move so she did not startle Parker, who's head was resting on her chest. She checked her watch, it was almost seven, she noticed that his alarm clock was set for seven so she decided to wake him.<p>

"Parker, it's time to get up."

His eyes softly opened and he looked surprised to see her. He thought for sure that the second he fell asleep Bones would've left.

"Bones..?"

"Yes, it's me Parker. Come on and get dressed, I'll see if I can take you to the diner for breakfast."

"Okay Bones."

He quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed. She stood there smiling before leaving the room to ask Rebecca if it was okay to take Parker. No one was in the house it seemed. She walked toward Rebecca and Drew's room. She hears the moans and groans of them and decides not to knock, because she is afraid of making them mad. Instead she sends Rebecca a text message and listens as the woman's ringtone goes off inside the room.

"Leave it, Bec."

Drew groans and everything inside her turns with disgust. After a moment of no response, she decides she's taking Parker to the diner. She finds Parker inside of his room ready with all of his books in his book bag, he's grinning with excitement.

"Did she say I could come?"

Now he's practically shaking with excitement.

"Yes. Do you have everything you need for school? Because I'm dropping you off."

"Yeah I have everything. Lets go Bones!"

She looks at him and takes his hand before leading him to the car. Her and Booth's waitress serves them, after expressing her 'sadness about Agent Booths death'. She doesn't understand why everyone is giving her condolences. They were just partners. That's all they'll ever be, because he's gone and the desire to be more can never be explored. Parker asks for pie for breakfast and for some reasons she can't deny him his wish. So she eats her normal fruit cup and he eats two pieces of pie, explaining that the Booth stomach has no end. She takes him to class and explains to the teacher to not mention his father.

"Bye Bones. Thanks for everything. Will you pick me up today?"

"No, your mom will be bye to pick you up, but you have my number memorized now, right? So if you need me, call me, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, Bones."

"I love you too, Parker. Be good today."

She leaves him and goes to her car. She puts it on autopilot to the lab, but before she puts it into drive she hears her phone ringing. It's Rebecca.

"Hello."

"_Temperance. You took Parker to the diner today without my permission and I truly don't appreciate it."_

Brennan has heard this tone many times through the conversations Booth used to put on speaker. It takes her all not to yell at the women. She finds herself wanting to release this pent up frustration.

"I was going to ask you, but I heard you and Drew having sexual intercourse and I thought you would not appreciate being interrupted. Parker was very hungry and I did not want to leave him so I fed him breakfast and took him to school. I'm sorry if I crossed some sort of imaginary, metaphorical line."

She hears Rebecca sigh in the background.

"_Look, I know you were very close to Seeley and I understand your need to hang on to some piece of him. Parker is so much like him, but I think it would be best for Parker if you and him didn't have any more contact."_

She feels herself getting upset at the thought of Rebecca ripping Parker out of her life. She composes herself.

"Fine, but I think you should know that Drew scares him when he's drinking and doing bills because he yells. He knows that when he used to have nightmares and asked for Booth you wouldn't call him. It's despicable, Rebecca, that while Parker's father was still alive you would not allow him contact. And now that his father is dead, you're attempting to take away the one person he has that can relate to what he is feeling. Goodbye Rebecca, tell Parker I love him."

She hangs up the phone and drives to the lab, determined on spending her entire day in Limbo, because she is done working with the FBI. The only agent that was acceptable was Booth and he's gone now, so there's no point. Walking into the lab, she sees the members of her little family, but sees no Booth and inside that hurts her. Angela runs up to her.

"I've been calling your apartment all night, Sweetie. Where have you been?"

"I was with Parker. He had a nightmare last night, so I stayed with him."

Angela placed her hand on top of her heart.

"Are you okay, Ange?"

"I'm fine it's just so sweet, I mean he really needs you now, Bren."

"I am aware of that, but his mother does not want him to need me and is trying to push me out of his life."

Brennan begins to walk to Cam's office, with Angela following her.

"Why not? Is Rebecca crazy?"

"Not to my knowledge, but I took him to the diner for breakfast and she is now frustrated with me."

Angela runs a hand through her hair in anger. She had always resented Parker's mother for the way she treated Booth. She continues to follow Brennan into Cam's office.

"Dr. Brennan, I didn't expect to see you in today."

"Why would I not be in today? If we're going into our relationships with Booth, why are you here today? You were the one who once had a sexual relationship with Booth, he and I were just partners."

"Point taken, I'm sorry. Anyways is there something I can help you with? Hacker said he would find you a new agent to work with in the next week or so, he said he wanted to give you time."

"He'll need to give me more time because I want to sever our ties with the FBI."

Cam's eyes grew wide while Angela's held understanding. Somehow only Booth understood Brennan enough to work well with her. Even when her and Sully were going out, she could not work well with him.

"Dr. Brennan, we cannot just sever our ties with them. I know this is hard on you and don't try to deny that, but that does not mean we can just not work with the FBI anymore. I'm sorry, but it doesn't work that way."

"Then you can find another forensic anthropologist, because I refuse to work with them. I plan on going back and just working with identifying the victims in Limbo. I'm done, Cam, I can't work with them anymore."

Cam put her hands together in deep thought.

"I'm going to give you a few more days, okay? If Seeley were still alive, you would still be working on solving crimes. Wouldn't he want you to continue what he started?"

"I do not know what Booth would want because he is dead, Dr. Saroyan. I do not plan on changing my mind."

The conversation stopped as Cam's work phone rang. Angela and Brennan watched as her face went pale. She only nodded before hanging up the phone.

"That was Hacker-"

"I already told you Cam-"

"No, Dr. Brennan. You see Jared is not available or answering his phone, so Hacker wants you to go clean out Booth's office. I can go if you don't want-"

"I'll do it. May I go now?"

"Yes."

Angela and Cam watched as Brennan rushed out of the room. Their eyes met and they waited for the other to speak first.

"Can I go with her? She won't be able to do this. I don't care what she says, she and Booth were not just partners and she is hurting more than we understand."

"Why don't we all go? You, Dr. Hodgins, and I to help her. I'm sure Booth has a lot of things there, more than she can do on her own. It may be the same way for his apartment."

Both women grabbed their things and then Hodgins before getting in Cam's car and driving to the Hoover Building.

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><p><strong>AN: Another one down. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please Review, they're like a writer's drug. **


	3. It was dark and I was over

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, surprising right?**

**A/N: Did you guys watch the new episode? I swear I was awwing and swooning the entire time. I definitely think Brennan needs to show us that nude omlete making picture. Show of hand, anyone else want to see it? : ) anyways, here's the new chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I am only in highschool and I have four AP classes that pretty much rule my life. So enjoy:**

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><p>It was a normal day at the Hoover Building, that is until Dr. Temperance Brennan walked in. The workplace had stopped and everyone started to stare at her. The loss of their fallen special agent had taken them all hard, but they all knew that Dr. Brennan would take it the worst. She seemed as clueless as ever and instead immediately walked into Agent Booth's office without so much as saying hello to any of the agents. Not that she knew any of them well, except for Booth, she always knew Booth. Coworker's eyes met each other in wondering what she doing here and also a brief smile in the fact that some things never changed including Dr. Brennan dismissing all of them whenever she walk onto the floor.<p>

Things changed for Brennan once she entered her former partner's office. His desk was cluttered with case work, and papers he had not filled out yet. He always procrastinated, always. His computer was still on, with background checks for some of their suspects from the last case. She hoped that the FBI had caught the killer, because she was sure Hacker had given the case to someone else to finish up. She sat down in his chair, this room smelled like him, it had his distinct scent.

To know that someone would soon be occupying this space-Booth's space- hurt. She did not understand the feelings that were overwhelming her and she hated them. She hated that now that he was gone, she was expected to fall apart and to not be herself. She had never fallen apart of front of others and now that her partner was gone nothing changed, except the fact that she lost someone she trusted.

She looked at the pictures around the room. One was a standard issued FBI portrait of a peaceful meadow, she knew how much he hated it and wanted that thing torn down, so she did it. She ripped the portrait off the wall and threw it on the floor, before sitting back down at his desk. It felt good to be destructive and angry. She knew it was her body relieving itself of stress. She looked at the area.

How many times had he sat here and she had sat across from him just shooting him knowing glances and him shooting back loving looks? She grabbed the picture of her, Parker, and him and held it to her chest. She wanted that moment again and mainly she wanted to have not missed their moment. The moment that she now wanted, now longed for more than ever.

"Dr. B?"

Hodgins scared her, his voice made her jump. She looked up to see him, Angela, Cam, and Sweets all standing there. What were they all doing her? Sensing her best friend's discomfort, Angela stepped forward and smiled at Brennan, hoping that it would give her some comfort in this heart wrenching moment.

"We came to help, Sweetie. Booth has a lot of stuff here and we didn't want you to feel overwhelmed. So here we are for your disposal. Just tell us what to do boss."

Brennan was left speechless, she knew that these people were her family and a family was a group of people that worked together and supported each other, but she did not expect this from them. She didn't expect their love and never understood how she ever deserved it. Cam noticed her obvious inability to comprehend what was happening.

"Dr. Brennan, we loved him too, this is not something you have to go through alone. We are all here for you."

Brennan nodded at her, but did not respond. She did not want to dwell on Booth's death, because if she did she would not take it through many more days.

"Oh-Okay. Well I will work on his desk. Ange, you can work on his side tables and walls. Cam, Sweets, and Hodgins take each third of the room. There are boxes by the door, but since Booth is not coming back we need to decide whether to put it into storage or..or."

"Sell it sweetie, we'd have to sell it."

Brennan was taken aback by the idea of selling her partner's things. She knew that these things would not have a place in any of their homes, but what if Parker one day wanted it. What if he wanted his father's things to put into his home? So she shakes her head. There is no way that is happening.

"No, I'll put everything in storage, so just put everything in boxes."

They continued to put things in boxes and soon the office that had always held so much life for Brennan was now desolate. The group sat on the floor of Booth's office, just taking the scene in. Brennan knew this was the last time she would step foot in this office, possibly even in this building if need be. She just didn't think she could work with the FBI anymore, because Booth had made it his mission to serve and protect this country. Even though he didn't die out in the field, she could only help placing some of the blame on Hacker and Sully and once upon a time Cullen, because they had worked her Booth into the ground.

Her thoughts wandered to Parker in the comfortable silence. She wondered if he was in class, making others laugh or at least being the happy boy he used to be. Actually, he was probably already out of class at home doing his homework, like the good child he was. She wondered if she would ever be able to see him again or if Rebecca would let her jealousy be put in front of what the six year old needed.

And what of her? She still had the innate need for a child. She still had the desire to become a mother. Was it wrong, though? Was it wrong to bring a child into the world without a living father? _I can't do it. Listen, I have to be involved. If I'm the father, then… I have to be a father._ She holds her head on both sides as his voice penetrates her ears. Her face contorting in pain from hearing his voice. Why could she still hear him?

"Bren, are you okay? What just happened? Cam?"

She opened her eyes to see Angela right in front of her face and Cam standing by waiting to check on her. Sweets and Hodgins have scooted closer to her and are waiting to be appraised of the situation. She smiles and tries to be reassuring to them but it isn't good enough.

"You all are going to think I'm insane."

"I think I can be the judge of that, Dr. Brennan."

Sweets tells her and as much as she wants to scoff at him and tell him that his science is a soft science, she doesn't. She has no more energy to disagree with those closest to her. What if they end up gone like Booth? What if she had something to tell them and she never gets chance? There are too many what ifs in her life now.

"I..I hear him, his voice. The things he said to me that day and before that day, I hear them. I hear them and it breaks my heart, metaphorically speaking."

There is a collective silence and Brennan feels her heart beat in her head and she hates it. She hates her life at the moment.

"May I speak with Angela and Cam alone?"

Hodgins bows his head at her. They had always been equals. The same number of doctorates. The same salary. And at the beginning they had the same outlook on life. However, she has always been his boss in some way, shape and form. He always was ruled by the things she asked for. He almost felt like he owed her that much for the damage the world had caused her.

"Yes. Hodgins and I will go to my office. Dr. Brennan, I know you do not believe in my science and you no longer want a relationship with the FBI, but my door is always open for you."

"Thank you, Dr. Sweets."

The two men exit the room and close the door behind them. The three women are left looking at the others, wondering what this is all about. Brennan addresses Cam first.

"Do you think Rebecca is capable of neglecting Parker? Possibly even letting him be abused?"

Cam looks surprised.

"What findings do you have to back this, Dr. Brennan?"

"I just want to know if you think she is capable of it. You and Booth had a relationship during their co-parenting, so you are the one to know."

"Well, Rebecca has always loved that little boy, but I am not putting anything past her. She saw and possibly still sees Parker as a possession, that she can use to hurt people with. Including Seeley. She never let him have enough time with his boy and if Seeley ever mis-stepped you would hear the threat that she was going to take Parker away from him. He could never win with that woman."

"What's this about, Bren?"

Angela asks, because she doesn't understand where this question is going. Whenever she had seen Parker, he looked happy and healthy and well loved. She never saw him as the victim of neglect and abuse.

"When I went to see him last night, Rebecca was no where to be found and Drew answered the door with a bill in one hand and a drink in the other. His room was spotless, like it looked like he didn't even live there. Parker's room at Booth's place was messier than this. It reminded me of my rooms when I was placed in the multitude of houses, because I owned so few possessions. Then as I was about to leave, he begged me to stay because he was scared of Drew and his yelling. Something just felt off."

The two women digested the new information and it sounded odd to both of them as well. They knew Parker and he was the kind of kid that made messes, accidentally of course, but nonetheless they were made.

"What are you going to do Dr. Brennan? What can you do?"

"I'm not-"

She paused when she saw Hacker barging into the room.

"Dr. Brennan you're going to want to come with us."

The three women watched as ten or so agents rushing to the elevators. Terror struck her, a feeling that she had not had since she and Hodgins were kidnapped by the gravedigger and forced to live with the fact they may not make it out. The terror she felt when the doctor told Booth it was a brain tumor that needed to be operated on immediately. The group of three stood and quickly approached Hacker.

"Why? What's going on?"

"There was a complaint-"

"I am a forensic anthropologist, complaints have nothing-"

"Listen to me Tempe! The complaint was by a neighbor of Rebecca Stinson, she heard screams and crashes of something or someone. Booth used to hand out the FBI's number to the neighbors so that they could easily reach him. We think Parker is hurt."

A chord deep down inside of Brennan was struck. She had already lost one of her Booth boys and she refused to lose the other. She was, however, at a loss for words. How could someone hurt that sweet, innocent boy. An internal conflict raged on inside of her.

"Angela, take my car and take Dr. Brennan to wherever she needs to go. I'll grab the boys and meet you two at the hospital, okay. Go! Go."

Angela grabbed Brennan's arm gently and followed on Hacker's heels. They got into the car and followed the squad cars to Rebecca's house. Brennan was unsure of everything. Why were so many cars going to the house? Why would Drew or Rebecca harm Parker? More 'what ifs' filled her mind.

* * *

><p>The tires came to a screeching halt and the ambulance was heard in the distance. Brennan's head was momentarily cleared and she realized only two cop cars were outside of the house. They stood where they were, almost like they were waiting for her.<p>

"What are you guys doing? Parker could be hurt."

Angela is the voice of reason in the moment of high emotions.

"Dr. Brennan is going to go behind us so she can access the situation with Parker."

Hacker informs the women. The cops open the unlocked door. It reeks of alcohol and Brennan takes note of the broken glasses and bottles. Parker's school things are strewn across the floor. Before she can fully comprehend what she's doing, she's rushing ahead of the cops and going to Parker's room. Inside she finds a broken six year old, curled up against the wall. He's visibly shaking and it takes all of Brennan not to go find Drew and kill him.

"Parker, it's me. It's Bones. It's all going to be okay. Can you come here, baby?"

"Everything hurts, Bones. It all hurts."

As gently as possible, Brennan scoops Parker into her arms like he is a tiny four year old. Angela is waiting by the boy's bedroom door. She kisses Parker's forehead while walking alongside Brennan. The young boy cuddled into Brennan's chest, looking for some sort of comfort.

"It's okay now, Baby Booth, you're safe."

"Angela, will you drive behind us? I'm going to accompany Parker in the ambulance."

"Bren, don't you have to be related to him?"

"I'm riding with him with or without permission."

She gently placed Parker on the stretcher and then stepped up into the vehicle. The last thing Angela sees of the two, is Bren grabbing Parker's hand.

* * *

><p>Angela walks into the ER from the civilian entrance, Cam, Sweets, and Hodgins are already there and have been sitting there, waiting. Or at least trying to wait. Angela dabs at her tears and tries to compose herself. She is an artist and artists have that knack for detail, but the problem is once you spot that detail it is in your head forever.<p>

"Is he okay?"

Cam is the first to speak. When her and Seeley had dated, Parker had only been a year old. Their relationship lasted for two years and in that time she had watched Parker grow. She had loved him and protected him just like Brennan was doing now.

"I don't know. It was bad, like really bad. It reeked of alcohol and there was broken glass everywhere. Parker's things were all over the floor, mixed with alcohol. Who could-who would do this to him? He's so sweet and so innocent. I just don't understand."

There's a silence that goes laong with all of this. Being in this hospital, where Booth died, only a week later. It was like he took control of everything, he made everything okay for everyone and now that he was gone their worlds were spiraling out of control. They all adored Parker, because of him, because of Booth. The adoration didn't stop because Booth was gone, if anything it grew because they felt even more protective of him. They sat there and quietly waited for Brennan to come out and tell them good news. Instead a woman walked over to them and examined them. To their surprise Sweets was the first to talk.

"Can you we help you?"

"Why yes. I'm Mrs. Jones. Are you the family of Parker Booth?"

They all nodded, but did not trust the woman to say anymore.

"I've been assigned to his case. I was just recently at the home. We found one of his journals and supposedly this has been happening for awhile now by the mother's boyfriend, but supposedly she knew."

"Bitch."

Angela couldn't hold it in any longer. She was so angry and seeing her best friend so broken was like seeing her the day they found her mother's remains in Limbo, but Booth had been there to comfort her. When she kept repeating what her name is and who she is, Booth had been there. He wasn't there this time.

Cam dismissed Angela's comment knowing how frustrated her co-worker and friend was. She, instead, continued to interrogate the woman in front of her.

"What will happen to Parker?"

"It all depends, if he can tell me that his mother knew and did nothing to stop it, then I can get her on neglect and she won't ever see her son again."

"But none of us will, right? You're going to take Parker away from us and put him in a home where he doesn't know anyone."

Hodgins' voice sounded from a chair away from the group. Mrs. Jones looked startled, almost as if she didn't know he was there in the first place. She hated to admit that what he had said was truth.

"Well, sadly, yes. We will have to put him in a foster home."

"But Brennan has certification to be a foster parent."

Angela pointed out, remembering when they found baby Andy.

"Well I do not know who this Brennan-"

"Dr. Brennan." The entire team corrected.

"Well where is Dr. Brennan?"

"She's with Parker as we speak."

* * *

><p>Riding in the ambulance with Parker had to have been the hardest thing, Brennan ever had to do. They started him on IV fluids and pain medication, but not enough to knock him unconscious, so instead he continued to cry with Brennan feeling like nothing but a helpless bystander. The paramedics asked her for Parker's information on the way there and she told them everything but his social security number, because it was the only thing about Parker she hadn't memorized.<p>

After what seemed like eternity, Brennan knew it wasn't only but ten minutes, they finally arrived at the hospital. The six year old looked so small as she held his hand on the way to get X-rays done on all of his bones. Brennan thought is was particularly unnecessary considering she knew all of his injuries. He had a broken humerus, sprained radius(this was a defensive injury), and at least two broken phalanges.

"Bones, you won't leave me will you?"

"Of course not. Except for when they take your X-rays. You have to stay in a room all by yourself but I will be in the conjoining room and will be able to communicate with you. Is that alright?"

As much pain as he's in, he still is able to shrug his shoulders.

"Drew isn't going to come back is he?"

She swiped some of his long hair to the side of his face, but it only revealed bruises that were starting to form. She shook her head before speaking.

"No, never again. I won't let him."

Brennan emphasizes her point in the way she speaks. No that man will never get near Parker and if her supposed luck is good, Rebecca won't be able to see him either. She reaches out to grab his good hand and squeezes it reassuringly. When she goes to pull back, he doesn't let go until the doctor comes in.

"Alright, Parker, I'm Dr. Philips and I'm going to take you down to the X-ray machine, we'll try to make it as short as possible. We'll even let mom come, sound good?"

Before Brennan can protest that she is not his mother or have any biological relation to the boy, Parker nods his head. It fills her with this sense of pride and she doesn't know how to describe it. So instead of saying a word, she holds her 'son's' hand all the way down to radiology. Then she stands in the room and talks to him the entire time, making sure he stays as still as possible.

* * *

><p>The results are back by the time a nurse gets Parker situated in a room and Dr. Philips comes walking into the room. A large file is in his hand and his face looks ominous. Brennan steps closer to Parker even though there is no reason to be protective with the doctor in the room.<p>

"Well Parker is looks like you have a broken arm-"

"My humerus."

"Very good. Your only in third grade, how'd you know that?"

"My mom is forensic anthropologist."

She beams first at him calling her mom, but when his voice fills with pride at telling the man her profession it almost breaks her down. It amazes her how much she loves him.

"Very cool. Well you have the broken humerus, a fracture in your radius, and a couple of broken phalanges. We're going to have to put a cast on that arm of yours and something on those fingers to keep them immobilized."

"Thank you very much, doctor."

"No problem, I'll try to see if I can get the nurses to put him to sleep for the casting."

She nods and smiles gratefully at him.

"Thank you so much."

With that the kind doctor is gone again and it's just the two of them sitting there, looking at the other, wondering who will speak first.

"Parks, what happened? Has this been happening a lot?"

He looked reluctant to tell her and she could only understand, because she too had always been reluctant to tell anyone what had really happened when she was in the foster homes. She also never understood why she was scared to tell. She sits down beside his bed and grabs his hand.

"Did your father ever tell you about me? Other than the basic stuff."

"Well he said you were a hard egg to crack. Does that mean something bad happened to you too?"

"Yeah, something did. When my parents and brother left me, I had to go into the foster care system and the families I was placed with were not good."

"Am I going to have to go to the foster care system?"

She shook her head sharply. No way would she ever let him go into the system. No, she would protect him at all costs.

"No way, I'm going to keep you safe, okay?"

He nods and jumps when a nurse comes in. She puts some medicine in the little boy's IV, before smiling kindly at Brennan and then walking out of the room.

"What was that Bones?"

"It was the medicine that's going to help you sleep so Dr. Philips can put your cast on better."

"But I have to tell you what happened, Bones! Don't make me go to sleep, please!"

She gets up and lays on the bed, before wrapping her arms around him the best she can without harming him. She coos at him and whispers words that she knows would comfort her. It's her only hope that it helps him as well.

"Shh, Parks, it's okay. When you wake up you can tell me. I'm going to be right here when you wake up. No one is ever going to hurt you again."

"I…I love you, Bo...mommy."

At first she is shocked, he may have been saying that she is his mom since they were in the hospital, but never directly to her. She had now been longing to be someone's mother for two days and already she had a child here and willing. It kept her momentarily silent, but she covered that up by kissing his forehead.

"I love you too."

The heart rate on the monitor is a calm, rhythmic beat. Something she never got to hear from Booth, the last time she heard his heart beating was when he was awake and begging her to come into the operating room with him. His excuse was that she would know if they were messing up, but she didn't. She had failed him. She extracts herself from Parker, smiling at seeing him asleep. She presses the nurses button and tells them he is asleep and the casting should begin soon. Dr. Philips and his team of nurses arrive, he offers to let her stay, joking that she'll know if he does something wrong.

It strikes her to her core and attempts to act like it didn't hurt. Instead she ends up running from the room.

When she walks out into the waiting room, eight eyes stare at her waiting for news. Angela gets up, seeing her friend's distraught face, and hugs her. Brennan crashes into her, but tries not to cry and she really tries not to think of the fact that right now she wishes Angela was Booth.

"How is he, Dr. Brennan?"

"He has a broken arm, fractured wrist and a couple broken fingers. They're putting him in some casts as we speak."

"He's going to be okay though, right?"

Angela inquires, because she loves Baby Booth almost as much as Bren does. Parker has always been the sweetest, most honest little boy.

"Yes he is expected to make a full recovery. Has a case worker come by? Is he going back with Rebecca, if so I need to call her."

"Sweetie…"

Angela and the rest of the team don't know how to tell her.

"All of you obviously have some information I don't know of, so please inform me."

"Rebecca knew, she knew that Drew was hitting him and she neglected him. There were days he went without food except for at school. That bitch was hurting Parker too."

Brennan as if she was about to pass out. This little boy, her Parker, had lost his father and been abused not only by his mother's boyfriend but his mother too. She felt herself falling, but Hodgins was there to catch her.

"You okay, Dr. B?"

She nods and thanks him, but she can't say much else. Anger burns inside of her along with about twenty other emotions. She misses being a 'cold fish'. Before anyone can say something, Rebecca is seen running into the ER. The police must have not caught her yet.

"Temperance, is he okay? Why didn't you call me? He's my son. Is he going to be alright? How badly is he hurt? I need to see my son."

Brennan bring her first to the woman's face and it sent her back and she lands on her bottom.

"Parker is _Booth's _son, not yours."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Phew that was a long one. Hope you all enjoyed! Please review**


	4. Until you kissed my lips

**Disclaimer: *Sigh* Seriously I still don't own them...**

**A/N: Chapter Four, YAY! Thank you for all of the reviews, they make my life happy :) Warning: This chapter has some semi-graphic stuff pretaining to Parker. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Rebecca was lucky she wasn't bleeding, because if there was anyone who could kill her with just one punch it would be Brennan. Hodgins wrapped his arm around Brennan's arms and waist to hold her back while they all watched Rebecca. She grabbed at the spot where Brennan had hit her. She got up and went to Brennan's face, but Sweets intervened and stood between them.<p>

"You will never see _my _son again, do you understand? Seeley is dead and you no longer have a tie with Parker. So you get out of this hospital now. Parker is **mine **and I get to do whatever I want with him. You just want him because you never got Seeley, but I don't know why you wanted him or Parker for that matter! You were too good for Seeley and so was I!"

"You self righteous bitch! You dare you talk about Seeley that way. To think he once loved and appreciated you disgusts me. You are the devil compared to him, he was an amazing man and you don't get to come into this hospital where just a week ago you were sobbing over his death and slather him. No that is not how it works. Get out of here Rebecca, get out before Dr. Hodgins lets Dr. Brennan go and she continues to do a number on your face."

Rebecca didn't back down at Cam's words, as Sweets continually pushed her away from Brennan. Throughout all of this Angela had left to sit with Parker, so that he would not wake up alone. Cam let out a breath when she saw Mrs. Jones walk up. Maybe someone could make Rebecca leave before Parker woke up without Brennan standing there next to him.

"Is there a problem here?"

Rebecca turned to the woman and started the act of the dedicated and worried mother, luckily all of the people in the waiting room saw through the act. Mrs. Jones placed her hands on her hips and waited for the answer she had heard so many time from parents whom had abused their children. It disgusted her that people believed she was so stupid. She had seen cases like this, where the mother stood by and allowed this terrible thing to happen. Parker Booth was six years old and she may have not known the boy, but she knew he did not deserve the way he was treated.

"Yes, ma'am there is. See I'm Rebecca Stinson, Parker Booth's mother and these people, my ex-boyfriend's co-workers, aren't allowing me to see him."

"Well I'm glad, considering I'm Parker's case worker and I have not been able to talk to him. I don't believe you've talked to the police yet either, have you? That is a requirement for this situation and I would not want to break any laws."

Rebecca looked stunned, but not the slightest bit confused.

"Wha-What are you talking about? Talking to the police? Why would I need to talk to them. All I want is to see my son."

"Parker was abused, Rebecca, by your boyfriend. A man that you brought into your son's home and Mrs. Jones has proof that you stood by and allowed that man to harm Parker. You disgust me. Booth trusted you to keep his son safe."

Brennan seethed. She hated her, anyone who would willingly stand by and watch as Parker was abused, disgusted her. She wanted to kill her, she wanted to kill the mother of Booth's son. Not because of jealousy or any other useless feeling, but because she allowed Parker to be harmed.

"Dr. Brennan I don't believe we've met. Your friends tell me you'd be interested in the fostering of Parker Booth."

"It's nice to meet you. And yes, I have plans on fostering him and then adopting him."

"Like hell, you'll do anything with my son."

Brennan rose her eyebrows at the woman, but did not say a word. Instead she composed herself and waited for Mrs. Jones to speak. She longed to go sit by Parker instead of standing here waiting whatever this situation was out. She wanted to be with the boy who called her mommy. She wanted to comfort him and love him.

Like she had been unable to love his father.

* * *

><p>Angela had been able to slip away while Brennan and Rebecca fought. She did not want Parker to wake up and be alarmed at the fact that he was alone. She sat by the little boy's bedside. She didn't want to touch him, well she was afraid of touching him, because it looked like it would hurt no matter where she placed a gentle hand on him. So she just sat there with her hands in her lap, the room was quiet because she had closed the door the second she entered the room. Her eyes stayed on him as she watched his chest moving up and down with his breathing.<p>

"I always wanted a kid, did you know that?"

She started to speak softly.

"As I was traveling all alone, well really I was never alone, 'cause every city I had a guy."

She chuckles to herself, thinking about those years. She probably sounds crazy because she's talking to a kid that's unconscious. She shrugs her shoulders, people talk to their loved ones that are in comas all the time. Why should this be any different?

"But you know what I mean, well you really don't, but oh well. I always wanted a kid, but I needed to settle first. I owe it to Bren for helping me settle. When you were a kid and asked me if I wanted to be your dad's girlfriend, I won't lie, I thought it wasn't a half bad idea. As time went on though I realized I loved Booth as a friend. But Hodgins, Parker, I think I love him still. But you know who really wants a kid? Bren does, she wants to have your dad's kid. I think she will too, once this mess with you is over. She's going to give you a baby sibling. And you three are going to be a family, I have to believe that- Parker? Parker?"

She questioned as his eyelids started to flutter open. Everything at first was blurry, but Parker knew that it was Angela sitting by his bedside. He noticed how she looked almost uncomfortable and for a second he wondered how bad the bruises were. Drew had hit his face several times. Thinking about those moments where he didn't even know if he was going to make it out alive makes him upset. He reaches out for her hand and she gives it to him.

"Angela..?"

"What's wrong Baby Booth? What do you need?"

He shakes his head, because he isn't quite sure what he needs but he knows he heard his biological mother's voice mere minutes ago and the last thing he wants is for her to come in here. He wonders if the police have found his journal and if so have they read it?

"Is mom here? I thought I heard her voice."

"You did, she's in the waiting room. Brennan is fighting with her, because she wants to see you and Brennan isn't letting her."

"She can't hurt mommy can she?"

Angela is confused and he notices through her expression. If her mom had just stood by and watched as she was beaten up, there was no way she'd be calling her mommy. Maybe the journals he wrote were wrong or something was misinterpreted.

"Do you want me to make Brennan stop fighting her?"

"No! No! Is my biological mother going to hurt mommy-I mean…Bones. Is mom going to hurt Bones? Don't let her!"

Angela stands up, because Parker is now struggling in the bed and she knows she has to calm him. He could hurt himself even worse and she doesn't want him too. He's exactly like Booth, so protective of Brennan. She gently pushes him back onto the bed. She tries as hard as possibl to not hurt him, but she can't help but feel like she is.

"Baby Booth, it's okay. Brennan can definitely take care of herself, okay? She's taken years worth of martial arts and protection classes. She's too worried about protecting you to worry about anything else, okay? You need to calm down, though, because you could hurt yourself even worse and none of us want that."

He relaxes and lays back down. He pulls his blankets up with his one good hand, Angela reaches out to help him. He whispers a thank you. He remembers his father telling him how Bones could protect herself and he knew his father never lied to him.

"What's going to happen to me, Angela?"

She smiles at him, trying to comfort him, but she doesn't know if it's going to work.

"Brennan wants to adopt you, Baby Booth. Would you like that? If you got to live with her."

He nods his head vigorously.

"Yes I would! 'Cause I know she'd never hit me and she'd love me. Is it really going to happen like that?"

"We all hope so, sweetheart. But see there's this lady outside that's going to come and talk with you. She's going to ask you a lot of questions about what happened today and all the other times. You have to tell her the truth, can you do that?"

"Yes I can! Will mommy be with me?"

"I'm sure we can work that out for you. How bout I go get them? Will you be okay by yourself?"

The small boy nods and watches as Angela leaves him alone.

* * *

><p>"Now Ms. Stinson, if you are found guilty of child abuse and neglect, you legally relinquish all rights to your son. Once that happens, Dr. Brennan is allowed to foster him and then in the coming months can adopt him. I'm sorry but that's how it is."<p>

"You're going to take my six year old son's word over mine? How is that right?"

"Considering Parker was there and his body is healing from multiple abuse situations that _I _can account for, it is completely right."

Brennan tells her in the calmest voice possible. In her mind, this conversation had already ended. All she wanted was to take her new son home. It didn't matter she would fight for Parker if she had to. She would take Rebecca to court, she would use as much money as she needed. This would happen.

"Look is this really the time or the place, Rebecca? I mean if you really love Parker like you claim you do, why can't you let Mrs. Jones ask him some questions instead of wasting her time here. I'm sure she has other people she needs to see."

Cam tries to make a case for Rebecca to just leave, because for the last five or so minutes she's been tempted to call Agent Perotta so that the agent can get Parker's 'mom' out of here. She sees the toll it is taking on Dr. Brennan when all she wants is for the team to be in there with Parker. Before anyone can say anything, Angela walks back into the room. She immediately goes to Brennan to whisper in her ear.

"Since when does Parker call you 'mommy'?"

A smile graces Brennan's face, she can't help it. Of course years ago, when Parker was just a child and every weekend Booth had him Brennan saw him, there were times when the title would slip from the boy's mouth. Back then, though, it was an accident. To know that the boy was even calling her mommy to Angela meant something to her.

"Today. I find it makes me quite happy."

"It should. Anyways he wants to see you. And I told him about you, Mrs. Jones. He's willing to answer questions as long as Brennan is there. I told him that we should be able to work something out, I hope that's okay."

Mrs. Jones nods.

"Yes. Dr. Brennan come with me, Ms. Stinson, I'll need to go down to the station and give them a statement. Make sure not to lie, wouldn't want to see you spend a night in jail."

Her last comment is under her breath, but all the squints hear it and all of them laugh. Brennan even cracks a smile at the comment. The walk to Parker's hospital room is long and quiet, Brennan may have even felt it was awkward if things didn't affect her the way they did other people. Parker gives a bright smile when he sees his Bones walk through the door, but it falters when Mrs. Jones enters. The woman notices that his once happy state has gone and she worries that any question she asks the boy will not be answered. Sometimes that is the case and then the right people are not convicted and she hates that.

"Parker, this is Mrs. Jones, she's going to ask you questions pertaining to what happened today and what happened before today."

His eyes are as wide as saucers, because when Angela told him about this it didn't seem so scary. Now, though, it was. He wanted to just not do it, but he had promised Angela and he knew Bones would be proud of him if he did. He looks at her, the woman he now calls mommy. He's thankful for her, but he still misses his daddy, he wishes he could be here right now. That's not how it works, or so he's been told by everyone, including his mother and Drew on multiple occasions.

"Will you stay with me, mommy?"

He looks up at her with just his eyes and they glisten like Booth's did whenever they caught a murder or he had pie or they ate Thai food together while singing Hot Blooded. So she nods at her son, because he is hers now. Booth left him in her possession to look after and take care of. Sure Booth didn't know what was happening, but she never chose to love Parker it just happened.

"Of course, I'll sit right here."

She sits down next to his bedside, knowing that the hardest part-taking pictures- is already over. They have X-rays of the healing wounds and those that were already healed and they took pictures of all bruises that graced the six year old's body. She had looked at the x-ray of his arm and it was one of the worst breaks she had even seen on a living or dead person, that said something.

"Okay now Parker, I have to record me asking you these questions so we can make a record of it, okay? Make sure you speak clearly and we'll be all good."

The boy nods and takes Brennan's hand before Mrs. Jones starts the recorder and asks her first question. She lists a bunch of other things about the child including his case number. He doesn't like this feeling, it's almost as if he doesn't belong to anyone anymore, but he knows differently. Angela promised that Bones was going to take him and he knew he was okay if he was with her.

"Parker, we're going to start with a real easy question. Do you know what abuse is?"

"Umm…well...yeah I guess. It's what mom and Drew were doing to me. Hitting me and stuff."

"Okay, good. When did you being abused start?"

"Well, when Drew started to live with us...I-I don't know when that was, though."

"Six months ago."

Brennan answers as she sees her boy getting upset. She specifically remembers Booth getting very angry that Drew was living with his son, for multiple reasons. He said he got a bad feeling about the guy, at the time Brennan pushed those feelings away thinking it was just Booth being overprotective of his son. Oh, but how right he was. Mrs. Jones makes a note that Parker's soon to be foster mom was the one who made the comment. While she does this, Parker starts to talk.

"Am I doing good, mommy?"

"You are doing fantastic, I am so proud of you, keep it up, baby."

Unbeknownst to them, Mrs. Jones smiles at the interaction. She is most definitely filing for Dr. Brennan to adopt Parker Booth immediately. She turns the recorder back on before asking another question.

"Okay now Parker, I know this is hard, but I need you to tell me in detail what has been happening over the past few months. Take your time."

"It started one day when mom forgot to pack me lunch and I didn't have any money to buy some. I hadn't had breakfast so when I got home I was really hungry. I'm not allowed to get food out of the fridge anymore cause one time I did and the milk jug fe-fell and made a big mess, mom got really angry. So I opened the door to mom's room and both of them didn't have any clothes on. Drew got up and asked mom if he could hit me and all she did was sh-shrug her shoulders, so he started hitting me with his fists. He hit me here and here."

He told her pointing to his temple and his ribs. Mrs. Jones made a record of where he was pointing before she urged him to continue. If his stories got worse or even stayed the same they would have the mother and the boyfriend in no time and Parker wouldn't have to testify.

"I was really bruised when Drew was done hitting me and everything hu-hurt so I started to cry cause it hurt real bad. Mom told me to suck it up and pushed me into the wall before opening the door and slamming it in my face. When they came out of the room, they made themselves dinner but didn't let me have any of it. Mom stopped feeding me breakfast and dinner, but I ate at school and when daddy had me. When I would get home mom and Drew would both hit me whenever I said anything. That's what's been happening."

Tears were running hard down the six year old's face with no end in sight. Brennan tried her best to comfort the shaking boy, she even got on the bed and sat next to him, she held him as she did when they had just first met, when he was a little boy who had not yet been damaged by his mother and a pathetic excuse of a man. She looked to the social worker, she wanted this interview to be over with…now.

"Maybe that's enough for today, maybe we can wait for tomorrow to continue this. Parker needs to stay calm and relax."

"Dr. Brennan, I know this is hard to watch and hear, but I need these questions answered."

Brennan was ready to go to bat for Parker, but she realized that Mrs. Jones needed these questions answered so that she could take Parker home when he was released. She didn't want him going anywhere but her house. So she clenched her teeth and nodded at the social worker.

"Now Parker what happened today?"

He grabbed his head as he tried to figure out and tried to remember. After several blows to the head it was hard.

"I came home from school on the bus and called for mom to see if she was home. Drew was there, though, and he was holding this box. I asked him what it was and he said it was an engagement ring. He told me that he was going to ask mom to marry him and that finally I was going to have a real dad instead of that lame excuse for one. Then he said he was glad daddy died, so I started to yell at him. I told him that he would never be my dad and that I hated him. He started to yell at me really loud and he started to throw bottles at me."

He paused to wrap his arms around Brennan's waist. Reliving what had happened just mere hours ago, hurt him. In those moments where he wasn't sure if he was going to live or not, he was so scared. It made him not want to say anything else, but he knew he had to. He promised Angela and Bones that he would.

"I ran away but he followed me and grabbed me. He grabbed my arm and twisted it, it really really hurt. Then he threw me down on the ground. He started to hit me so I put my arm up to defend myself, but he kept doing it. I begged for him to stop, I cried and cried just asking for him to stop, but he wouldn't. Finally a noise outside made him stop long enough to run to my room. I put my chair against the door, but Drew opened it, then a neighbor pounded on the door saying she called the cops. Drew ran away and I closed the door again in case he came back, but mommy was the one there."

Brennan rubbed her son's back as he finished what had happened to him. It only reminded her of what had happened to her when she younger. Those foster homes had been the worst things in her life and she would be extremely happy if Parker never have to step foot into one.

"Parker, that was very good. Now Dr. Brennan is planning on fostering you. Is that okay?"

His head went up and down at an accelerated rate and the older woman smiled at the young boy.

"Can you say your answer for the recorder?"

"Yes, I want mommy-Bones-Dr. Brennan to foster me."

He was confused about what to call her in the company of others. Angela had been confused when he called her mommy, but he liked calling her that. A mommy was a person who loved you and that's what Bones was for him.

"Thank you very much Parker and Dr. Brennan. The doctor I spoke to said you should be released in the morning and if everything goes according to plan Dr. Brennan should be taking you home. Would you like me to send your friends in?"

Brennan looked down to the boy in her arms and realized he did not know who was in the waiting room waiting to see how he was. She did not feel like naming all of those people out there, so she said something that she knew her new son would be comfortable with hearing.

"All the squints are out there Parker, would you like to see them?"

His smile widens as he nods. Brennan nods to Mrs. Jones and thanks her.

"We'll be in touch, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan looks out of the hospital window, things have changed since she last checked the time. It is now dark outside and a light frost has dewed the large hospital window. It's approximately nine o'clock and she knows Parker needs rest and not the excitement of all of her family members coming in the room. She extracts herself from the boy and tucks him in. It reminds her of all those years ago when her and Booth spent so much time together.

"_Bones will you pretty please tuck me into bed?"_

"_Come on, Bub, Bones wants to go home. It's almost nine-thirty which is way past your bedtime."_

_Parker looks disappointed and pouts accordingly at his father before looking at Bones. He lifts his hands up which signals that he wants to be picked up. She grins at the four year old boy before picking him up. His face immediately cuddles itself into the nape of her neck, while his arms go around her._

"_Bones, you really don't have to. I can put him to bed and can go home."_

"_It's fine, Booth, I'll put him to bed. Parker say goodnight to your father."_

_She turns her body so that the matching faces to each other. They exchange matching smiles, while Booth reaches out to ruffle his son's hair._

"_Night daddy, love you."_

"_Night Bub, love you too."_

_She walks into Parker's room, closing the door behind her. She lays the small boy in his bed and prepares to leave but his voice stops her._

"_Bo-o-o-ones, will you stay until I fall asleep?"_

_He draws out her name and she finds it hard to resist. So she sits on the edge of his bed, in the dark, until she hears the soft, easy breathing of the four year old._

"Are you tired, Parker?"

"Kinda, will the squints stay tonight? Will you stay?"

"I don't plan on leaving you, but I'm not sure about the others."

"We're not going anywhere, either, bud."

Hodgins' voice sounds as they all walk through the wide hospital door. Each squint is carrying a cot, except for Hodgins who has two (one for himself and one for Dr. B.). The create a path so that they do not get in the way of a nurse who is coming to check on Parker in the middle of the night. For now, they stand by his bedside and talk quietly since the lights have been dimmed for sleep.

"We're so glad you're alright, Parker."

Cam tells him, running a hand through his blond hair.

"Thanks, Cam. Are you staying with me too tonight?"

"Of course, all of us are. And if you need anything you just let us know."

Parker nods, before pulling the covers closer to his chin. His eyes slowly close and the adults in the room relish in the peace he finds while sleeping. They only wish that he could have this kind of peace all the time. Angela leans down and kisses the young boy's head.

"Sleep tight, Baby Booth."

"Cam, I will need to have some time off to get things settled with Parker. As long as it's alright with you?"

"Yes of course."

Soon the squints start to lay down on the cots, but Brennan stays put on the chair by Parker's bedside. Sleep begins to take all of them, including Brennan, as they dream of a world better than this one. One where Parker is not in the hospital broken and wounded and where his father is still alive to love him the way he deserves to be loved.

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><p><strong>Chapter Four down!<strong>

**Next Chapter: Brennan takes Parker home. But where exactly is home?**


	5. And you saved me

**Disclaimer: Hart and I talked last night and I begged for him to give me Bones for Christmas. He said no. Then I asked for David Boreanaz. He still said no. What can you do? He's heartless.**

**A/N: Shall we embark on chapter five? Squints run amuck. Hodgins tries to help things along. Angela decides she wants something (or someone). Cam helps Brennan make a decision, well really she gives her unwanted advice. Sweets, well is Sweets. Brennan just wants to take her new son home.**

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><p>The sun, like it often does with a new day, streamed through the blinds on the large hospital window right where Jack Hodgins was laying down. He awoke with a tight and rigid back, wondering why he did not feel the comfort of his tempurpedic mattress under his body. Slowly he rose into a sitting position, his head in his left hand. Finally he remembered why he was on a cot in the middle of a hospital room with all of his co-workers slash friends. Parker was abused yesterday and they stayed the night-him in particular to protect Parker and Dr. B from anyone who may have desired to harm them.<p>

She was taking him home today, but the question was where was home? Brennan had expressed that she did not desire to return to her apartment, even though Parker adored the pool. Even though she had not said it, he knew it reminded her too much of the fallen special agent. This also meant Parker's part-time home was out of the question as well. Hodgins knew what he had to do. Slowly, as if to not wake anyone by his movement, he got up. He worked out all the creaks in his body as quietly as possible and then left the room. Coincidentally, Parker's doctor was about to walk into the room.

"Hey Doc, they're all sleeping in there. Leave 'em be will ya."

"How many people are in there?"

"Five and all of them are dead asleep. Are you Parker's doctor? Does he get to go home today?"

For some reason, Hodgins was excited at the idea. These years had changed him for the better. He remembers how bitter of a person he was when they first started to work with the FBI. How he used to hate Zach, but yet before the accident they were best friends. He never thanks Booth for that, for giving him a family; for giving him people who weren't in love with him for his money but instead for who he was. So maybe taking care of Booth's kid and well Booth's 'Bones' was repaying Booth in his mind. Maybe he just loved them. That was okay, right?

"Yes he does, I've signed the release papers. All Parker's mom has to do is alert the nurses and he's free to go. Of course he should come back for routine check-ups just to make sure everything is healing correctly."

Hodgins nodded. Bones weren't his thing, so he pretended they were. He understood though that Parker's bones were still growing so the doctor had to check to make sure the breaks healed correctly or else the bones would grow incorrectly. He didn't doubt that Dr. B would make sure everything was okay with Parker, though. He also noticed how the man called Dr .B Parker's mom, it made him smile, 'cause maybe in some odd way all these years Dr. B had been his mom.

"Thank you for taking such good care of Parker."

The man, who's name Hodgins hasn't even gotten, nods.

"No problem, he was an easy boy to take care of."

Hodgins watches as the man saunters off, he never liked doctors, especially the one he had after he and Dr. B were buried alive. He was an absolute jerk. He tries to remember what his plan was when he exited the room. The thought dawns on him and he quickly pulls out his cell phone and calls his personal realtor.

"Hey, it's Jack Hodgins. I need you to find me a place in about two hours."

"_Dr. Hodgins. Alright. I'll need the specifications of the home and am I supposed to purchase the home?"_

"Yes and yes. It needs to be a two floor, a nice neighborhood with lots of kids, near mine preferably. I'll say four to five bedrooms with the same if not more number of baths, lots of land with a pool, a big pool. Money isn't a problem-"

Was that really a _necessary _thing to say? No, no it wasn't because money was never an issue for Hodgins.

"I need you to find, purchase, and then text me the address. The keys need to be dropped off at the hospital, give it to the front desk tell them it's for Dr. Hodgins. Oh and Mr. Sullivan the sooner you find the house, the bigger your commission is."

He hangs up the phone and wonders what he needs to do next. If there's anyone who can accomplish this it's him, but he may need some help, especially since he needs to the furnish the house. He calls another person to bring him furniture magazines, including some kid's furniture for Parker. He's no good at this kind of stuff, that why when he and Angela were together she started to look for a new place for them to stay.

His people show up in a record time with a large stack of magazines. He puts them by the chairs that are outside of Parker's room and thanks them for getting back to him quickly. They also hand him his laptop which will help when his realtor sends him pictures of new houses. The men leave and he enters Parker's room. All of them are still asleep. Parker had nightmares last night and every time all of them got up to check on him and make him feel better. Luckily, Angela parked her cot closest to the door.

He softly shakes her, hoping to wake her up without waking everyone else up. This will be hard because Cam and Sweets are approximately five feet and ten feet away from him, respectably, plus the fact that if Parker wakes up his whole plan is shot to hell. Thankfully, her eyes start to flutter open and she looks confused then dazed, but finally her eyes fill with understanding.

"Is Parker awake? Bren?" She asks him in a low whisper.

"No, just me and you, but come on. I have a plan but I need your help, so hurry and get up. You'll have to be really quiet."

She nods and gets up. For whatever reason, she grabs for his hand and he holds it, giving it a reassuring squeeze as they sneak their way out of the room. She smiles at him, remembering the one-way conversation she had with Parker just a few hours ago. Holding his hand, just reassured all the feelings she believed she held for him. Once they got out of the room, she knew she was free to speak.

"What is this about Hodgins?"

"I need you to help me furnish Dr. B's new house."

"Bren, is moving? Don't you think it's a bad time? I mean with Booth and now Parker. This doesn't sound like Bren, I mean it's not rational. Bren is completely rational and this isn't. Hodgins, I don't understand."

He smiled at the dazed and confused woman in front of him. He let out a small chuckle before deciding he should probably inform her about what was going on or else she was going to continue to freak out and wake the entire floor of people not just those left in Parker's room.

"She doesn't know it's happening. I'm doing this for her. A little while after Booth died, she said that she had no desire to live in her apartment anymore and she let me know that she had not been there, like to really live, since Booth died. She's been sleeping at the lab, I'm sure you can even find the suitcase she packed. Now with Parker, I thought they needed a fresh start. I'm giving that to them, but I need your help."

She looked touched by what Hodgins was doing and surprised that Brennan had let him onto something that she had not even known. But sometimes Bren did that, she had a heart to heart without realizing it and sometimes as long as she trusted the person all her feelings just spilled out. So it doesn't hurt her to know that Brennan didn't tell her she no longer wanted her apartment, because there were only so many things Bren could tell her without Brennan feeling like she was a burden, even though she never was.

"Okay, let's get to this. You still act like an six year old boy, so how about you pick out Parker's things." She jokes with him.

He lets out a chuckles but it doesn't stop him from grabbing the pre-teen furniture magazines and flipping through them. She grabs a magazine and slaps him with it as he feigns mock horror. They look into the other's eyes and silently they have a conversation with the other. They go back and forth discussing whether Brennan and Parker would both like certain items, their voices never rise above a whisper. Finally they have everything settled and figured. They call the stores to order the items, luckily everything they are ordering is in stock. They don't have an address for the things to go to yet, but Hodgins pretty much bought out the store so they're waiting for Hodgins to call back with an address.

"Hodgins, this is so awesome. I mean seriously, but I'm not sure how Bren is going to respond. I hope you don't take it personally if she says something about how she could afford it and isn't very appreciative about it. She will be happy on the inside, you know that."

"Angie, it'll be okay. I know she'll be happy if not first shocked and then she'll want to be unhappy, but she won't be able. She'll want to repay me, possibly, but whatever. This is about giving her and Parker a safe place to be, a place where Rebecca doesn't know about."

"You really do care don't you?"

"You know I do. We've talked about this. And now that Booth is gone, it's my job to take care of them, I owe him that much."

Angela is about to speak again when Hodgins' cell phone rings. She signals him to go ahead and figures it's the realtor, she hopes it's the realtor. A smile graces his face and butterflies erupt inside of her. She loves that crooked, half smile, because it's him not trying to be anything but happy and she loves that. He opens his computer and starts speed typing, she can't see for what though. He turns the computer toward her when it's satisfactory. The house is gorgeous, perfect, it looks like Brennan and Parker; it looks like their family. It's gated, with a pool in the back. Two stories, with a turret that you can walk out on and feel the sun on your face and the wind through your hair. She nods through some tears of happiness and he reciprocates the same thing.

"Yeah get it, put the deed in Dr. Temperance Brennan's name. T-e-m-p-e-r-a-n-c-e." He spells for his realtor.

The phone is closed and she looks at him, wonder dancing on her beautiful eyes.

"It's hers!"

They start calling the furniture people telling them where to put the exact items, it's perfect. Angela glances at him every once and a while. The mad scientist grin perfectly implanted on his face and she knows it right then. She is _still _madly in love with _him_. It's a terrible thing too and she doesn't know what to do with this new infortmation.

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><p>Brennan awoke to a bird chirping outside of the room. Quickly she checked the clock and wondered what was wrong with her. It was almost eleven and she never slept past seven-thirty. Her internal clock wouldn't allow it. Even as a child she never needed an alarm clock because she was always awake sometimes before her parents. She relaxed once more seeing the perfect child asleep in front of her. Slowly, she brushed some hair from his face and watched him sleep some more. Looking around the room she noticed only Cam and Sweets still occupied their cots. It was not like Angela to leave her, but she shrugged it off and was instead just happy that her boy was okay.<p>

She watched as Cam started to wake up. It was a slow process and at first she looked very confused, but finally she got her bearings. She stood and slowly walked over to Dr. Brennan. Brennan welcomed her over with a large smile, but never did she take her eyes off of the child presented before her.

"Good morning, Cam."

"Morning, Dr. Brennan. How is he?"

"He's still asleep."

She pulls an extra chair over and sits next to the younger woman. They sit in a comfortable silence for what seems to be a long time, but maybe it really isn't. Booth was their common tie-he always had been. He was the one who introduced them(for the second time) and kept them civil at times where normally they wouldn't have been. So they owed it to him to continue to be civil, but in reality it wasn't hard anymore just natural instead.

"What are you going to do?"

Cam's voice sounds in the quiet room.

"What do you mean?"

"About everything."

"Everything is too much of a general term for me to answer properly. Please rephrase your question accordingly, Cam."

She smiles at the anthropologist, of course she wouldn't understand the meaning of the question.

"About Parker, about taking him home, about having his dead father's sperm frozen on ice available for you at any time."

For an outsider these words would've sounded harsh, but in this room with the two of them they were just asking the general question. It was almost a comfort to know that someone else's mind was on Booth's sperm as well. Now, Brennan felt a little bit better knowing she was not the only one.

"I will take Parker home with me, we'll go out and buy him new clothing. Possibly, if it is alright with him, I will have his father's child, I will give him a sibling."

"I know you don't want my advice, but I'm going to give it to you anyways."

Dr. Brennan does not say a word, she waits for what Cam has to say instead, because she knows there is no point arguing with the woman in front of her. Nor does she want to get into an argument and frighten Parker. No, that does not sound appealing to her.

"Don't ask him about it, don't confuse his life anymore by giving him the decision of whether or not you should have a child. Do you still want to have Seeley's baby? Even though you now have his first one."

She looks at Parker and inside she feels the conflict. The principle wasn't even having _Booth's _baby, per say. The principle was having _a _baby. There was a difference. By having a baby was she telling Parker that he was not enough for her? She should've shut Cam up while she had the chance.

"Do you really want to have a baby and then later tell him or her that their father was not even alive when they were conceived? How confusing will that be for them?"

"I know that Dr. Saroyan. I have thought about all of this, but when Parker and I are settled this will be discussed as a family. That's all I can do right now. I can't tell you how much easier it would be if he were here, but he's not and that just makes this harder."

"I can't say I understand, because in this moment I-"

Both women pause as they watch Parker's eyes begin to open. They hold their breath but neither know why. They wait and they watch him. Both of them are kind of afraid of touching him because they may scare him and that's the last thing they want to do.

"Parker?"

Brennan's voice is a whisper, because he's unsure which makes her unsure.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby, I'm right here."

She grabs his hand before standing and kissing the part of his forehead that is not bruised. Cam lets out the breath she was holding and is happy that Parker looks better this morning. Three sets of eyes shift to Sweets who is still asleep on his cot, the two women notice as Parker's smile widens.

"I woke up before Sweets did? Dad was right Sweets is a big six year old."

For some reason this is the first time Booth has been brought up without all of them feeling the need to cry. It's then they realize the happy memories do not require tears. It's happy memories that will continue to keep Booth alive in their hearts and minds. Cam moves to Sweets and starts to shake him.

"Five more minutes, mom."

Cam rolls her eyes, Parker busts out in laughter and Brennan just stands there confused on why Sweets delusional babble is so hysterical. She guesses she has a lot to learn if she's going to be the mother of a six year old.

"Come on Sweets, get up. The six year old even woke up before you."

Sweets attempts to wake up as easily as possible. He rolls his eyes. So what if the six year old woke up before him, they couldn't let him sleep. He would've appreciated it if they had. He shakes his head, he is definitely not a morning person. He makes eye contact with Parker and suddenly he isn't in such a bad mood anymore. It seems like yesterday that was him, lying in the hospital bed with the unexplainable bruises. But Parker's were explained and people were in trouble for it.

"Good morning, Parker. How are you feeling?"

"I'm good Dr. Sweets. Was your sleep good?"

The boy lets out a grin and even though the joke is on himself, he finds he could care less. At least the young boy is smiling, at least he still seems carefree. What else matters?

"It was great, thanks for asking. Now where are Dr. Hodgins and Angela?"

None of them were sure. So they just all looked at the others.

"Well I'll go look for them."

"I'll come with you, Dr. Sweets."

And just like that it was just Brennan and Parker in the room. She had Booth by her side through this all if it was only in name. He looks so much like him, it metaphorically kills her inside over and over again. The way he looks at her and talks to her, it's all Booth and that makes her happy.

"You ready to come home with me? I haven't talked to Mrs. Jones yet so we'll have to wait, but you'll come home with m soon enough. How about we start looking for a house?-"

"Will it have a pool?"

She grins, remembering the time when he was younger and he asked each of the women in the lab if they would be Booth's girlfriend. Booth though something was wrong with Parker, but at the end of the day it was because his friend's dad had a girlfriend and she had a pool. It was good to know that pools were still high on his list.

"Of course, but my apartment is getting old and wouldn't it be nice to have a house for you to run around in? I think it would be a nice change, what do you think?"

"I think it's a good idea, mommy."

"I'm glad you think so too."

The shrill ringing of Brennan's cell phone was heard throughout the room. Parker knew it had to be his social worker and for that he was happy. It meant he could change out of this hospital attire and be a person again, be a kid again. He barely paid attention to the conversation his mother was having until her tone became harsh.

"She got out on bail? How is that possible?-She _hit _him, _abused _him. How is that fair.- He couldn't make it?- Good. Can I at least take him home now?- Thank you Mrs. Jones and yes we will be in touch."

Her eyes meet Parker's and she notices how the blanket is bunched up in his hands. His face is flushed. She realizes she spoke to loudly and too harshly for him to not notice that she was upset, that something actually was wrong. Her anger was still burning so she walked a few moments then stopped. He needed to know.

"Rebecca got bail, which means she paid to get out of jail until her trial, Drew did not. It'll be okay though Parker, I promised you that I would protect you and I wouldn't lie you know that."

"I'm not scared mommy, as long as I get to be with you I'm okay."

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><p>Angela had run out and bought Parker some clothes to take him home in and she had gone by her best friend's new house and made sure the furniture was perfectly placed. It was a pleasant surprise that everything was perfect, because she then knew that her best friend would love it even more. They didn't furnish the two extra rooms, because they didn't know what they would be used for. She knew Parker would enjoy exploring it. When she returned to the hallway outside of Parker's room she found Hodgins, Cam, and Sweets.<p>

"Well look who finally woke up."

"In my defense, I woke up way before Dr. Sweets did."

Cam says with her hands up. Angela grins, knowing if Hodgins hadn't woken her up she would probably still be asleep. She won't say anything though. Instead she smiles at the people in front of her, her little family.

"Did you tell them about what you did?"

He grins, his crooked little grin, and nods at her.

"Yeah, so can we take these two home or what? I'm dying over here."

The group laughs but stops when Brennan opens the door. She questions them with just the look on her face. Angela grins at her now confused friend, who's confusion will only grow when Hodgins drives her to a different home. She's dying to tell Brennan what the big secret is, but it isn't her secret to tell.

"I got Parker clothes to go home in!" She exclaims with a cheery smile.

"Thank you, Angela. I'll help him get dressed. Will you all be accompanying us home?"

Four heads nod back at her and she smiles at them before going back inside the room. When she turns to her new son, she sees him desperately trying to rip the IV out of his arm, she can tell he's afraid of the pain that will be accompanying that, though.

"Parker."

Her voice is soft, but it's enough to stop him from continuing. Gently, she takes his arm, frowning at the hand marks left in the form of bruises.

"Let me help you. Angela bought you new clothing as well."

She removes the IV with little blood and less pain. She pulls the clothes out of the plastic bag. It's a pair of jeans and a button down plaid shirt which will be easier to put on instead of a shirt that would go over Parker's had. Brennan can't help but smile at the fact that her best friend thought this through. When he is fully dressed, Parker hugs Brennan and she hugs back. It's one of those hugs that don't need explanation, it just happens and in a moment later it ends. She kisses the top of his head.

"Everyone is out there waiting to take us home. Are you ready Parker?"

"Yeah, mommy, I am. I'm ready for you to take me home."

It's those simple moments, the one where it's just her and her new little boy, that mean the most to her. He isn't trying to prove himself to anyone and she isn't being the guarded person she normally is. They are them; just Parker and Brennan without the world trying to harm them. She smiles at him and takes his good hand before walking out to their people.

"Hey Baby Booth."

Angela throws it out there because she hasn't seen him all day. He goes and hugs her. There was a soft spot in his heart for Angela.

"Thanks for the clothes, Angela."

"No problem. So you two are going to ride with Hodgins and I'm going to drive Cam and Sweets. We ready to go everyone?"

She is met with a full hallway of nods. The walk out as group with Parker in the middle of them, allowing them to protect him. Brennan and Angela standing the closest to him. They break off into their small groups and when Hodgins takes a turn in the opposite direction of her apartment, something immediately sets off inside of her. But these are _her _people. People she _trusts_, with her life if need be. They don't wish any harm on her or her son.

"Chill out Dr. B, it's okay."

This calms her down and finally they pull up to this gated house. It's gorgeous and she's enthralled by it. She loves this house and when she looks back at Parker she can tell he does too. Hodgins puts in a password to the security system and the gates open. She can hardly believe it, but what are they doing here? She's never ever seen this house before in her life. Hodgins parks the car and lets his two passengers out. Angela, Cam, and Sweets stand beside Hodgins as Brennan pulls Parker to her.

"I don't understand. Why are we here?"

Hodgins digs in his pockts and pulls out two keys, he hands one to Brennan and the other to Parker.

"This is your new home, Dr. B and Parker. We furnished it and it's yours."

Parker's eyes grow wide and a smile grows on his face.

"Did you really, Dr. Jack? Can I go inside?"

"Of course, it's your house, go on, but be super careful."

"I will be!"

He's speed walking up to the house before Brennan can tell him otherwise.

"Dr. Hodgins, I could've bought a house all on my own, I am of course well off financially."

Hodgins doesn't say a word, because he is unsure if more of a reprimand is coming. Instead, he is pulled into a bone-crushing hug.

"But thank you so much."

She takes Parker's path up to the house with all of her friend's following her. She is introduced to the foyer first, it's simple but exactly how she likes it. There are three different path ways. One to the family room, which she notices has a very large TV, the second to the kitchen and the third to the garage. The stairs lead up to what she can tell is a very large upstairs.

"Mom this place has a pool!"

Parker exclaims in the distance making Brennan smile.

"You made sure it had a pool?"

"Of course, that little guy loves his pools."

The next few hours are spent exploring the house, listening to Parker ramble on and on about how wonderful it is. Parker, also, repeatedly thanks Hodgins for buying this for them. Around nine o'clock, Parker knocks out on the couch and Hodgins carries him to bed. They decide it's time to head out and leave the two to their new home. Sweets and Cam leave in Cam's car and it's just the trio left.

"Bye, Sweetie. Call me tomorrow, okay? We'll go shop for Parker or something."

"Okay Ange, I will. We may sleep in though, Parker had an exciting day."

The two hug and then Brennan turns to Hodgins.

"Thank you so much, you gave us both a fresh start and I appreciate it so much."

"It was my pleasure, Dr. B. You know I'll always be there for you and Parker."

The two leave and Brennan is left alone in her new home, it's perfect. She flops down on the big couch and reclines to watch the moon reflect on the pool's surface. Exhaustion overtakes her and she decides it's time for bed. To her surprise Angela had everything transported to her new dresser. She slips on her comfortable clothing and goes to check on Parker first. She finds him asleep in his new bed, cuddling with the bear his father bought him years ago. She leans down and kisses his forehead.

"I love you so much, Parker Matthew Booth."

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><p><strong>AN: Finished! Yay! Hope you guys enjoyed. Please continue to review, those reviews make me super duper happy :)**


	6. My hands, they're strong

**Disclaimer: Sigh, I still do not own them**

**A/N: Well here is chapter six. Thank you for the all the reviews last chapter, I really appreciate them! Also just a note that I changed Parker's age to six instead of eight. This is gives me more flexibility in the character. Thank you for your continued support. Flashbacks and shopping trips happen in this one. Enjoy!:**

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><p>Brennan woke up in her new bed, in her new house at exactly seven thirty AM. Finally some things were returning to normal in her mind and in her heart. She pulled her robe off of the chair next to her king sized bed and draped it around herself. She opened her maroon colored drapes to reveal part of the land that came along with this new house and she watched as the sun slowly rose over two hills.<p>

Serenity filled her and she felt generally happy. These were now the moments she would have to enjoy because soon her six year old would be up and ready to go. She goes through her morning routine, but slower than normal since she does not have to rush to get to work or to get Parker to school. She's decided he won't go today (which is Friday) and on Monday they will decide if he's ready to go back. She knows that explaining the reason you have broken bones and bruises covering your body is hard and confusing especially when it is to your friends.

After her routine is completed, it is already eight thirty and she is not surprised that she dos not hear Parker at all. He was, after all, exhausted last night. She decides to stay in her robe and go make breakfast for herself since she does not expect Parker up anytime soon. Before she goes down the staircase, she breathlessly opens his door and peaks in.

He's in bed with two of his four appendages hanging off of the queen sized bed. She smiled at him and let out a small chuckle. He was exactly like his father and that no longer pained her, actually she found that it gave her great pleasure. Slowly she made her way in the room and moved his fractured wrist back onto the bed so that he would not wake up in pain. She stood at his partially opened door for a few more minutes before closing it and walking down the stairs.

The stove was one that a professional cook would use and she loved it. Somehow Angela had found a way to transport all of her things from her apartment to this house and she had arranged it all the same, making things easier for Brennan. The fridge was one of the big ones, that could hold everything you could possibly want and Brennan's heart swelled at Hodgins' love for her and her son. She got out a pan that she would make her vegetable omelet on, but was hit with another memory.

_She woke up to the scent of a file folder and the color of manila at the corner of her eye. Slowly, almost in a dazed state she lifted her head from the coffee table that it had been resting on. Incredulous, she saw Booth sleeping next to her, drooling on a case file. His saliva would most likely ruin the document inside so she shook him until he woke up._

"_Geez Bones! I was sleeping over here. I could've dealt with sleeping for ten more minutes. Not all of us can have amazing internal clocks that wake us up at seven-thirty each morning."_

_She gave him a cocky grin in return. He internal clock was not appealing to most people, but she guessed that when you have a five year old that kind of schedule would be helpful. What did she know, though? She was never going to have kids, because maybe it just wasn't meant to be. She grabbed a napkin off of the corner of the coffee table they had both been resting on and dabbed at the manila folder. His lips shaped into a 'O' in understanding that he was ruining their case file._

"_I'm sorry Booth but we worked long and hard on this last night and it would not have been good if you have ruined it with your saliva. I'm sure that Agent Hacker would also not appreciate you turning this in. I can only imagine that your back is bothering you considering the position in which we both slept last night."_

_He tried to get up and move around to prove her wrong but he finds that his back is stiff. Everything in him groans in protest of him moving so he stops and shots Bones a look that screams 'help me', which she does. She moves behind him before working her magic. She pops his back right to where it should be and it gives him enough relief to sit up straight._

"_Thanks Bones, I don't even remembering us falling asleep, last thing I knew we were talking and laughing and then you were waking me up this morning. Crazy stuff, this case did kind of mess with our sleep schedules, huh? So what's for breakfast? I'm starving."_

_She smiles at him because she knew that would be the next question. Booth was always thinking of two things. Intercourse and food; so it never was a question of what was on his mind in reality. Which, in turn, made it easier to supposedly "read his mind" as Angela had told her._

"_Well I don't have much in the fridge. I guess I could make us omelets. If that's okay with you?"_

"_Yeah that's fine, want some help?"_

_She shrugs her shoulders and smiles at him. She looks around her apartment. There isn't much else he can do but help, because she still does not have a TV so if she's not careful "Hot Blooded" will be blasting at eight in the morning and her neighbors, who already don't like her, won't like her at all anymore. She realizes that it will be even harder to live here if no one likes her._

"_Sure, it's up to you. Help would be nice, though."_

_He follows her into her kitchen which has ample space for the two of them, unlike his kitchen. He grabs the eggs and all of the ingredients she commands him to get while she grabs the pans and everything else they may need._

"_Bo-o-o-nes."_

"_Oh shush you whine like Parker does."_

_She tells him, striking him gently on the arm. He feigns hurt._

"_You don't even know what I was supposedly whining about."_

"_Well are you going to inform me?"_

"_You don't have meat here."_

_She rolls her eyes at him as he pouts profusely._

"_You know that I do to eat meat so why would you expect to find meat in my fridge?"_

"_I dunno. I was just hoping that you'd keep some for times like these. Ya know? Like when I'm hungry and at your apartment and begging for you to feed me."_

"_Booth, the idea that I would keep food for you when you barely are here is irrational."_

"_Fine Bones…"_

_The cooking process is going along fine until a raw mushroom hits her in the neck. Her mouth opens and she lets out a squeal before tossing a tomato at him. It makes a loud splat as it hits him and the juice runs down his shirt. He looks down and then meets her eyes, smile meeting smile._

"_It's war now!"_

"_Just remember you started this."_

_She says in a warning tone before vegetables start to fly._

She hasn't even cracked the eggs yet because she is on the floor, huddled in a ball. She's crying and once more it feels like she cannot stop. She _misses _him, needs him to help her. Because who is she _kidding_? She does not know how to raise a child, nonetheless an six year old. Parker expects so much from her because of the hours at a time she spent with him, but this- her raising him- is a _lifelong _commitment. There will be graduations to attend, parties to throw, relationships that he will break off and some where he will be the one with the broken heart. And she does not- no she _can't _handle that. She _doesn't _know how. So more tears flood her cheeks and spill onto the tile floor with no end in sight.

"Mommy..?"

He startled her and she jumped. He retreated. She watched as he ran up the steps and his door slammed with a distinctive 'bang'. As much as she wanted to continue to cry on the floor, the mother in her knew she had to go after him and make sure he was couldn't already screw this up. It wasn't possible yet. So she pulls herself together and runs up the steps. She doesn't knock, but instead just goes in.

"Parker.?"

He's in a ball, crying and she feels, well, terrible.

"Oh Parker."

"Were you crying cause you don't want me anymore?"

"No! Never. I always want you, Parker, you are my son always and forever, okay?"

She says her words so quickly that she wonders if the boy even heard her or understood her, but his crying ceases. Then he gets up and hugs her waist and she is so thankful that somehow she resolved this with as little tears as possible. She sits them down on his bed and kisses the very top of his head.

"Why were you crying then mommy?"

"I was thinking about the time your dad and I made a few omelets and we started throwing things at one another."

"But that's a happy memory, mommy. You shouldn't be sad about it cause daddy wouldn't want you to be sad. He loved you."

"I know Parker, but it is still very hard for me, because I have never missed a person like I miss your father."

"It's hard, isn't it, mommy? I miss him a lot too, like a lot a lot. If he was still alive he'd be the one picking me up from school today. I'm really jealous of my friends now, too, cause they have their daddies and I don't get mine anymore."

She smiles sadly through more tears of anguish. She hates this for him and for her and for the people they associate with, because none of them will get to have Booth ever again. This world will be flawed that much more without him in it, this world would run amuck with murder and whatnot and she found that she did not care. She would just lock herself and her son in their house, lock the gate, and let the world fade away until it did not exist anymore.

"I remember when I was older than you, by seven years, and my parents left plus my brother, I was envious of all the children in my grade level and those below and above. But you just like I did, will make it through. And I promise you, Parker, I will never leave you."

His eyes, that match his father's, look up at her and his arms wrap around her waist. She gives him a tight squeeze before kissing his temple.

"I won't ever leave you either, mommy."

For a second or more she is touched by the sediment, even though he will not have the chance for another ten to twelve years, she knows that he doesn't have to stay with her. He could have chosen to go into foster care, even though that would not have been the wise decision. Most likely she would never let that happen even if she wasn't a certified foster-parent.

"Would you like to go downstairs and eat some breakfast?"

"Sure."

She extracts herself from him and starts to walk away, believing that he is following her considering he cannot get dressed since he does not have any clothes here. He slept in his welcome home clothes from yesterday and she knows she will call up Angela later and she will help them shop. She turns back to back sure her son is following her, but he's not, he's still sitting on his bed staring off into space.

"Parker."

His mother's voice sounds so far away in his mind even though she is not but a few feet from him. His head turns to face where his name was called and she's standing there smiling at him. It's the smile that brought him in the first time he met her, it was welcoming and warm; the complete opposite of who she was at the beginning.

"Can we go see daddy today, mommy?"

"Of course, baby. First we have to eat though, come on."

He follows her down the winding staircase and helps her make two omelets. There is no vegetable throwing or joking about the most random things and maybe she's okay with that, because just an hour earlier that situation had her collapsed on the floor. She realizes that they will also need to go to the grocery store to stock the house with things Parker enjoys. Such as meat even though she winces at the thought of it.

"Mommy, this thingy is yummy."

She smiles at his ketchup stained face and his completely clean plate. She takes a napkin and gently dabs his face with it, hoping to catch the ketchup before it ruins the one pair of clothing he has. She kisses his forehead and picks him up from the chair to place him on the ground.

"We need to go shopping today for you, Angela wants to come along. Is that alright with you?"

The six year old looks up at her and in the process of thinking, sticks his tongue out like the Booth boys do when they think. Well at least her Booth boys do, she has no clue about Jared. She needs to call him, actually she doesn't understand how he did not end up with Parker unless Booth left it in his will for her to have Parker. She doesn't really care because when she looks into his big brown eyes all she sees is happiness, if that is even possible.

"Will Dr. Jack come?"

She frowns at him. When did he begin to adore Hodgins so much? Well he did buy them the house so she can't really say anything.

"Probably not, just me, you and Angela."

He grins at her.

"Can I call Angela to ask her to come with?"

She nods and finds Angela's contact on her phone, she shows him which button to press and then watches as he shifts from foot to foot waiting for her best friend to answer the phone. Even though Parker is a good distance from her, she can still hear the distinctive "hey sweetie" from the phone's speaker.

"Hi Angela!-I'm good, my bed was so comfy last night, Dr. Jack did good.-Me and mommy were wondering if you wanted to go shopping with us?-You'll come pick us up..? Is that okay mommy?"

Brennan smiles at him.

"Of course, sweetheart."

"Mommy says that's fine. See you a little Aunt Ange. I love you!"

Brennan can only imagine the look of pure shock on her friend's face, actually she wouldn't mind seeing it, but somehow Angela responds to him, telling him she loves him too and hangs up. Brennan picks up Parker and spins him around, as carefully as possible considering his injuries, while showering him in kisses. His laughter fills the house.

"I love you, mommy!"

"I love you more, Parker!"

For a second she feels complete and total happiness, she questions if it could ever get any better than this. Maybe this was why Booth wanted to be a part of their child's life even though it had not been conceived yet. He knew the love that came along with a child, a love that Parker introduced her to. She owes all of this happiness to him.

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><p>Parker introduces her to a TV show called SpongeBob, she doesn't like it but keeps the thoughts to herself and just is so excited when the doorbell goes off signaling that Angela has arrived. Both of them jump from the couch, Parker rushes forward which gives him a warning tone at his ears that he needs to be more careful. He pauses and waits to be smacked but instead a kiss graces his cheek and they open the door together.<p>

"Hey guys! We ready! I put into the GPS where all the good stores to go are, plus all the toy stores, plus the grocery store so we can get this Booth boy filled with meat."

A cheer exits Parker's mouth in pure happiness at all of the above things and Angela and Parker wait by the door while Brennan grabs her purse and coat. She feels terrible that she has nothing for Parker, but luckily he is a boy and he doesn't need as much as a girl does. She is suddenly very grateful for Angela's minivan because she knows with all the things they will be buying today they will need all the space possible.

"So, sweetie, how was sleeping in your new bed, in your new room, in your new house?"

Angela asks as they pull into a familiar store, the red "Kohl's" sign is right in front of them.

"It was wonderful, I was up in enough time to see the sun rise and it was very calming to me."

"I'm sure it was. So Kohl's is going to have clothing and toys so it should be pretty easy to get stuff here and if he isn't satisfied or if you're not we'll go somewhere else."

"This is great, Ange, thank you so much."

"No problem, sweetie."

The two adults exit the car and then Brennan opens the door for Parker who grasps her hand tightly. They walk immediately into the store that is crowded with people and Brennan notices how Parker grabs her hand a little bit harder. She pauses after she and Angela each grab a cart. She sees the apprehension on her six year old's face.

"Parker..?"

"There's so many people mommy, I don't like it, momma. Make it stop."

"Okay, it's alright. How about we see if you can sit in the cart so nobody can get near you, okay baby?"

He nods before she lifts him up and puts him in the bed of the cart. She meets Angela's eyes with her own and she sees her best friend smiling at her. She smiles back because she is so happy and all of this makes her happy. They turn to the boy's section and Angela starts picking things out. Parker so far has approved all of the pajamas she has picked including the ones that have SpongeBob on them, there's these other characters called Buzz and Woody. Parker claims that he'll show her who these characters are later. There are enough pajamas that Parker could go for weeks without wearing the same ones. All of these clothes are thrown in the cart. Brennan grabs underwear and socks and throws them in the cart as well.

"Mommy! Mommy! Can we get that? Oh please, pretty please!"

She follows to where he is pointing and sees a Steelers' jersey. She picks it up and checks the size, it is his size. She looks at those brown eyes and she can't resist. She gives him the jersey with a smile as they continue. Angela grabs several pairs of jeans, khakis, and black dress pants. At this point, Parker is barely visible in the cart because of the clothing that surrounds him. Next they look at button down shirts, t-shirts, and hoodies along with shoes. The cart is now filled to the brim.

They next look at toys, that will go in Angela's cart. These decisions are all his and he picks a selection of action figures, cars, and nerf guns. Angela grabs this thing called a wii and the games to go with it. They grab learning games as well such as LeapFrog games. Brennan finds that she cannot say no to any of it and soon Angela's cart is also filled. The cashier's eyes grow wide when she sees two full carts coming toward her. Parker is finally visible again when all the clothes are on the conveyer belt.

"Mommy, can you get me out of here?"

She pulls him out but he decides at the last moment that he wants to be held so she pulls him up to her. She is just thankful that he isn't that heavy so she can stand to hold him until they get back to the car. The cashier smiles at the moment, along with Angela.

"Your son is adorable."

Angela holds her breath and wonders if Brennan will deny Parker by accident by telling the cashier that he is only her foster son.

"Thank you very much."

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><p>They had gone out to dinner after dropping the clothes off at their new house. Brennan had asked Angela to take a detour when she remembered the conversation she had with Parker earlier today. Angela seemed reluctant at first, because she had seen the monumental steps that both Brennan and Parker had taken today and she didn't want them to backtrack.<p>

"Mommy, are we here to see daddy?"

"Yes, Parker. Do you still want to like you did this morning?"

He nods and the two of them get out. Angela had already decided a while ago that she would not interfere with this moment.

The gravestone seemed so final, maybe because it was. Brennan would never see her partner again and Parker would never see his father again. That was the definition of final. There was no 'see you later' because life was fragile and in a second it would be taken away. Parker takes the first distinctive step forward, toward his father's final resting place.

"I miss you daddy. You would've picked me up already and we would've gone to the diner with Bones. She misses you too daddy and did you know I get to live with her now and I call her mommy. Dr. Jack got us a brand new house and I have a huge bed, as big as yours in your apartment…"

He stops and sits by the gravestone, tracing the letters with his pointer finger.

"_Daddy!"_

_His father lets out a large breath as the force of a four year old hits him. He picks up his son and waves at Rebecca as she pulls out of the Hoover Building parking lot. Parker mimics his father's actions and watches as his mother leaves him with his father. He wraps his arms around his father's neck and rests his head on his shoulder._

"_Alright, Bub, I have to finish up some work and then we'll go to the diner for some food. So how was school today?"_

"_It was good. You know Mary? That girl in my class."_

_He smiles at his son's innocence about the girl, who was his son's best friend. They were always playing together and the teacher joked that they were going to get married one day. Booth thought it was a little much to go that far but whatever. Parker and Mary had the same birthday and Rebecca and Lisa(Mary's mother) were planning on throwing a joint party._

"_Of course I know her, her mother practically beat your old dad up for not having her home on time you two hung out."_

"_Well, yeah, her. Anyways she kissed me! Right here."_

_He points to his cheek and Booth smiles. They walk into his office and sit in the chair as he writes the last sentences of the case file._

"_Wow, Bub. That's insane. Why'd she do that?"_

"_She fell on the playground, well actually Tyler pushed her, and I yelled at him and helped her up. Then she said thanks and kissed me."_

"_That is quite the story, Parks. You'll have to tell Bones when we see her.."_

"_Can she come to the diner with us for food? Please!"_

_Booth handed him his cell phone._

"_Why don't you call her up, yourself?"_

_He found her number on the phone and pressed the send button. He swung his legs back and forth as he sat on his father's lap. Finally she picked up._

"_Hello Booth."_

"_No, Dr. Bones, it's Parker!"_

"_Oh, well, hello Parker. How was school today?"_

_He rolled his eyes even though his father didn't see it. Why did everyone insist on asking about kindergarten every time they talked to him._

"_It was good. So Dr. Bones we're going to the diner, do you wanna come?"_

"_Is your father okay with me coming along?"_

"_Of course he is Dr. Bones!"_

"_Alright well I will see you two shortly."_

"_Bye Dr. Bones!"_

_She chuckles and both Booth boys hear her._

"_Bye Parker."_

"_Daddy, can I ask you something?"_

"_Sure, bub, anything."_

"_Do you love Dr. Bones?"_

"_Yeah, bub, yeah I do."_

"Parker? Are you okay?"

"Yes, mommy. Should I go wait with Aunt Ange?"

"Sure, sweetheart, I'll be right there."

She watches as he goes and once he is out of ear shot she starts to talk to him even though she never believed in an afterlife or the fact that he could hear her.

"Rebecca was abusing him, Booth, her and Drew. They were hurting him, Booth, enough to send him to the hospital. Don't you worry though, I have him now and they will never hurt him again, I promise you that much. I need your help, though. Should I have our child, I mean I just don't know anymore and I wish you were here so bad. So does Parker and so do your squints. We miss you."

She waits for an answer or a sign from him but it never comes so she heads back to the car, thankful that she did not cry because that would be the hardest thing to explain to her son even though he would understand it.

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><p>By the time they get home from the grocery store, it's Parker's bedtime and she is adamant about getting him on a schedule so that when it's time for him to go to school again he will have an easy time adjusting. She helps him get into his pajamas and tucks him in. She sets the timer on his TV for thirty minutes and kisses his forehead.<p>

"Night mommy, I love you."

"I love you too Parker, get some sleep. If you need me I'll be downstairs with Angela."

She turns out his light and walks downstairs to Angela who looks how she feels: exhausted.

"Did he go to bed, okay?"

"He's fine, Ange, he'll be asleep in approximately five minutes. Thank you for coming shopping with us today. I think we both appreciated it."

"It was my pleasure, sweetie, I really did have fun."

She's cut off by a yawn escaping her mouth.

"Ange, are you tired? Do you need to spend the night instead of going home?"

"No sweetie, I just didn't get a bunch of sleep last night, you see. Hodgins took me home last night and he came in, and we sat and talked. It was like old times and then all the sudden I kissed him. He kissed back and one thing led to another. We slept together."

"Are you two going to get back into a relationship?"

"I don't know, tell me what to do. Please, you're the rational one. I need rational."

"Well being completely irrational, I was too rational about a relationship and now that person is gone forever and I can no longer hope for a relationship. So do it, Ange, talk to him. Talk it out with him. If you love him, don't let him go."

She wraps her arms around her best friend.

"I love you sweetie and so did he. I'm going to get going, because I do need sleep. I'll see you soon. Enjoy your new son, okay."

"I'll see you later, Ange."

Brennan walked up the steps, quietly, cautious to not wake up Parker. Finally when she was in the safety of her own room and the door was shut she slid down the door frame and cried like she never had before. This was insane, but every time she breathed she missed him and everything hurt. She wanted him back more than anything. She looks out her window up to the moon and the stars, wishing on some shooting star that had to be out there that he would come home to her.

"_We all see the same sky, Bones."_

His penetrated her head and again it was pain that filled her. Slowly she changed out of her clothes and into her own pajamas and slipped into her bed. Her knees came up to her chest as she held herself, as she stained her pillow with mascara stains. She _just _wanted him. Was that too much to ask for? Of course it was. At least she had Parker, at least she had the last part of him.

She surrounded herself with pillows and pretended it was _him_.

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><p><strong>AN: Finished! Longest chapter ever. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	7. But my knees were far too weak

**Disclaimer: I won the lottery the other day and with that money, I bought Bones, so yes I own them. Who am I kidding here? **

**A/N: Alright Chapter 7. I just wanted to thank all of you who have been with me since the beginning and the ones that just joined the ship. I hope you stay with us till the end This chapter happens about three weeks after chapter 6, so Parker and Brennan are pretty settled in to their new home and life in general. Brennan is back at work and Parker is back at school. All of the squints should generally make an appearance. In a few chapters it'll be Halloween and you'll see all of them there :)**

**Anyways shall we begin?**

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><p>Breathlessly, Brennan walked into Parker's room at seven in the morning. In the past three weeks she learned that Parker was not a morning person and he moved quite slowly in the morning. To make sure that she was not late for work and that he was not late school, she woke him early. She wakes up even earlier, to get dressed for work and then together they eat breakfast. For him it was a sausage and pepper omelet and for her it was a vegetable omelet.<p>

"Parker, wake up. It's time for breakfast."

She sits on the edge of his bed and kisses his forehead. She is patient and waits for him to wake himself up. She looks at the outfit they picked out last night for him to wear today. It's picture day and he thought that it was no big deal, since Rebecca never bought the pictures that were taken. She, on the other hand, wanted them. She wanted one for her wallet and one for the wall and one to give to each of her family members at the Jeffersonian. He lets out a groan, telling her that he is finally awake.

"Come along, your omelet is going to get colder the longer you waste your time up here."

She gets up from her spot on the edge of the bed and watches as he slips out from under his covers, his baseball pajamas coming into view. She smiles as he grabs her hand and they travel down the stairs together. She lifts him up so that he can sit at the island in front of him. She, then, slides the plate in front of him along with his orange juice. She goes to the cabinet and gets their vitamins.

Hers aren't actually vitamins, but a fertility drug to help with the artificial insemination she is getting today, it makes her body more ready for the treatment. She removes Parker's vitamins and then smiles as the last pill spills onto her hand. She takes it with her orange juice and then sits down next to her son.

"Mommy, are you getting that thingy done today?"

She turns toward him as he squirts more ketchup on to his plate. She had told him the general information about what was going to happen today. She told him that before his father had passed away he had donated a very important part of making a child to her and she was going to use this to give him a sibling. He seemed to be okay with it and continued to ask questions throughout the past three weeks about it. She was never too descriptive, remembering what Booth said to her about the fact that six year olds never needed a lot of detail to be satisfied.

"Yes, I am. But I will still be there to pick you up at three today and I will still take you to soccer practice afterwards."

His big brown eyes look at her as he shoves the last piece of omelet in his mouth. He seems to doubt her even though the bond they had seemed to grow stronger in the past month or so. She smiles at him, hoping that it would make her words seem more true.

"Promise..?"

"Yes, I promise Parker. Now go get changed, please."

"Do you want me to get the paper for you, mommy?"

She smiles at his want and desire to help her out.

"If you would like to, but please do it in haste."

"No problem mommy!"

He runs out of the room, faster than when he had on the casts. He was so happy to get out of those things last week and she was happy that she didn't have to have a constant reminder that someone hit and abused her little boy. She smiled as she finished her own omelet and collected their plates to put into the sink to be washed later most likely after dinner. She ran upstairs to the bathroom to finish up her makeup, knowing that the newspaper was always thrown inside the fence so Parker was safe.

That didn't mean her heart didn't _stop_ when she heard him screaming her name from outside.

"Mommy!"

He kept repeating her name over and over again. Thankfully, she was fully dressed so she ran down the steps and out the door to see him there holding a brown puppy, but she could see that the mutt was actually a golden color under all of the mud. She wanted to reprimand him for scaring her, but she knew he did not try to cause harm from it.

"Can we keep her, mommy? Please, oh please. She's like me, mommy. She doesn't have any parents anymore and she needs me to be like you. Please can we keep her?"

She massaged her temples slowly, feeling the migraine coming on. She could not deal with this today of all days. She had to still get Parker to school, she had to check in at work, and then she had to go to the fertility doctor to get her procedure done. No where in there can she take care of a puppy and they have not had time to hire help for the house. She looks at her son, though, and listens as he makes the comparison between him and the dog.

"For now? Yes, give her to me. You need to get ready now, Parker. I will bathe her quickly and then will try and convince Dr. Saroyan to watch her while I go about my day. Go on, baby, I've got her."

He runs inside the house after handing the puppy off to his mother. She looks at the dog, with the brown eyes and golden eyelashes. Her mouth is open and her little tongue is long and hanging out of her mouth. She holds the puppy away from herself since she has her work clothes on. She gets inside the house and goes to the largest and deepest sink possible. She grabs an old lab coat and puts it on backwards so that her clothing won't get dirty. As she washes the puppy, her suspicions are confirmed that the dog is in reality a golden color with brown paws.

Parker's feet pound down the stairs with his book bag following closely behind him. He leaves the bag at the door and runs into the mud room which connects to the garage which is where his mom is at the current time with their new dog. She looks at her son and notices he's brought towels along with him. She smiles at him, realizing she hadn't even thought about drying the puppy afterwards.

"Thank you, Parker! I had not even thought about towels. Please go check what time it is."

"Okay mommy."

He runs out of the room. She wraps the towel around the small dog, she imagines the dog can only be around nine weeks old and it was not fed well in its time with the previous owner. Slowly, she rubs the towel all around the dog, making sure to get every wet spot on the dog. She grabs a bag with a hard bottom and more towels. First she stuffs the towels into the bag and then she puts the puppy in it. The dog seems content to just lay there so she grabs the bag and walks into the kitchen.

"Mommy, it's seven fifty."

"Okay, we need to go. Here take the keys to unlock the car while I grab the remainder of my bags."

He nods, grabs his backpack, and then runs to the garage. She grabs her purse and briefcase before walking quickly to the car. He is already belted in and waiting for he. She puts the now sleeping dog on the passenger side seat. They make it to Parker's school in plenty of time and she even walks him to the door.

"I will see you at regular time, then we will take you to soccer practice and I will take the dog to the vet, sound good?"

"Yes, it does, mommy. I love you."

"I love you too. Be a good boy today."

"I will be, mommy."

She kisses the top of his head before watching him as he walks into the school building. She lingers a second, before realizing she needs to get to work quickly. Angela is coming with her to the appointment, for 'moral support' so maybe Hodgins can watch the dog. She pulls into her parking spot and grabs all of her bags. The Jeffersonian is silent as she walks in, but she sees Mr. Nigel-Murray on the platform identifying a post-World War 1 body. All of them know what today is, so maybe that is why they have yet to approach her. She makes her way into Angela's office and finds her and Hodgins kissing. She clears her throat and they break apart.

"Sorry, Dr. B. I'll let you two do whatever you're going to do."

"Wait, Hodgins, I have a favor to ask of you."

He spots and turns around, waiting for an explanation. She puts the bag that contains the puppy on Angela's desk and shows the two what is in the bag. Angela lets out a squeal in pure delight which causes the puppy to jump in fear. She gently picks up the dog and cuddles it close to her body.

"What's his-her name?"

"I don't know, I presume Parker will pick it when he comes home today."

"So Dr. B, did you just decide to go out and buy a dog?"

"Certainly not, Dr. Hodgins. Parker found her today outside of our gate, obviously she is small enough to fit through the gate and once he got a hold of her he begged to keep her. What was I supposed to say? 'No, now go throw her back out on the street'. I couldn't do that to him. I find it increasingly hard to say no to my son."

"It's okay, Sweetie, but you realize this is going to be a lot. A six year old, a baby on the way, and a puppy. Can you handle this?"

"Well I will be getting a cook that will prepare meals and maybe a housekeeper, so once they are hired it should be fairly easy. Now, Dr. Hodgins, I was wondering if maybe you could watch her until we return from my appointment. The appointment should only last around two hours, including traffic and the time it takes to actually wait."

"Yeah, I'll do it. Give her here, Angie. Do you have food? She looks like she's starving, don't worry I'll have my people bring over some puppy food for her. She's in good hands Dr. B. I'll take excellent care of her."

"Thank you, Dr. Hodgins."

Hodgins nods and walks out of the room. Cam enters the room moments later and smiles at her friends and employees.

"Mr. Nigel-Murray told me you were here, but I didn't see you. Pretty much you don't have any work today, unless you haven't finished some paper work. So why don't you just go home after the procedure."

"Dr. Saroyan, this procedure is not intensive, it's not like I am experiencing major surgery. Besides I need to store up vacation time for when the baby is born. So if it's okay with you I would rather just come back here and work in Limbo until it's time to pick up Parker from school."

"That is fine, Dr. Brennan. Good luck and we'll see you later."

"Thank you, Dr. Saroyan."

When she looks back at Angela, she is already up and ready to go with her purse in her hand and everything. Brennan is surprised at how happy she is when all she is doing is taking her there and sitting in the waiting room. They interlock arms as they walk out of the Jeffersonian and to Angela's car.

"I find that a thirty percent chance of something seems a lot less when I am presented with it and it will openly affect me. I'm getting nervous, Angela, what if it doesn't work this first time? Parker already knows what is going on, if it doesn't work I'll just have to re-explain it."

"Sweetie, calm down, thirty percent is pretty good. Plus you're healthy and Booth was healthy, it'll all be okay. Parker barely grasps what's going on right now and that's okay he's only six. He will be happy that he's going to get a sibling and have you explained that the baby will share his DNA? That could be a teaching and bonding moment for you two. Tell him that if he brings it up again."

They pull into the parking lot and they walk into the sterile office. Angela hates doctor's offices, she always has so when Brennan signs in she awkwardly stands at the door waiting at any point to run away. But Brennan comes back, they take a seat. For a moment or two they sit in silence, the place is not crowded, in fact there is a couple in there sitting about ten feet from them and that is it. Angela can tell Brennan is still nervous by the way her leg is rocking back and forth.

"It's going to be okay, Bren."

Before Brennan can respond, her name is called by the doctor. Brennan looks at Angela with confusion and anxiety. So Angela gives her hand a reassuring squeeze before watching her disappear behind the cream colored, threatening door.

Behind the door, Brennan is still anxious. The doctor gives her a robe to change into, which she does in haste because she's already ready to be done with this. The doctor comes back in when she alerts him that she is changed. He shows her the catheter and two nurses come in with an ultrasound machine. She knows that this is used to release the sperm right where it will meet the egg. She feels like a robot as she places her feet in the stirrups and relaxes against the cold bed. The stirrups spread and the doctor inserts the catheter. She watches on screen as the sperm is deposited and as quickly as the procedure started it was over.

"Alright Dr. Brennan, we're going to lower the top half of your body so that your feet are above your heart. I'll ask you to stay like this for about thirty minutes. Would you like us to send someone in here with you?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you, Dr. Abbott."

She felt the chair lower and soon she was in the room all by herself. Left with her thoughts on this child, a child that would have Booth's DNA. She would have Booth's only children, but he would never know this one and he would never get to see what Parker would become. Why hadn't she admitted how she felt about him? Why had she been selfish and afraid. _"I'm the gambler, I know the odds. The odds are that I will never, ever hurt you. I believe in giving this a chance, giving us a chance. Please." _In the lone, cold room the tears ran down her cheek.

"_I want you to come in with me."_

"_Booth, no, no. I would be no help. I would only get in the surgeon's way. Neither of us want that, I just want you to come out of the surgery okay. That's all I want right now."_

"_Then come in there with me. You're smart, Bones, so smart. Smarter than I could ever hope to be, smarter than the doctor that's going to be cutting my head open and I would feel better if you were in there with me to tell the doctor off if he does something wrong."_

"_Booth, my judgment falters when it comes to you, I am not rational like I am with the bodies that end up on our autopsy tables.-"_

"_Well if you come with I won't end up on an autopsy table, come on Bones, pretty please."_

"_Fine, Booth, I will come with you."_

_The wheels creak as they go down the hallway. It's a bleach white, intimidating him. It smells like a hospital and he hates it. He continues to hold tight onto Bones' hand, praying that everything will be okay. They say it'll be easy to remove, but for whatever reason he doesn't believe them. They make it to the doors when he tells them to stop and give them a minute. She looks at him with curiosity playing on her beautiful eyes._

"_Bones, if anything happens to me, I want you to use my stuff and have a kid. And if the day comes where I'm not around, look after Parker for me, Bones. He loves you."_

"_Booth, you're going to be fine. This surgeon is great and you know I don't say that about people unless they really are. You are going to be okay, Booth. Me and Parker and your squints, we all need you to be okay, we need you to come back to us, healthy and safe."_

"_Bones, I..I know that. Just know I love you."_

"_I love you too, Booth, in a atta-boy sort of way."_

_She watches as his head drops, she doesn't recognize it's disappointment playing on his facial structures, but anyone else could. But when he looks up at her, he gives a comforting smile in her direction and they give each other a squeeze of the hand. Tears glimmer in her eyes in fear._

"_Just remember everything I ever taught you and you'll be okay even with out me."_

_In that moment, she knows that she can't live without him._

She rests her hand on her abdomen, most likely her child-their child- does not even exist yet and even if it did by some chance it could not hear her. The ears of the fetus do not develop for a while anyways. But that does not make her any less inclined to talk to it.

"Your daddy loved you so much."

Minutes pass and she finds the silence comforting. She likes being alone with all of her thoughts.

"Dr. Brennan, your thirty minutes are up, you can go home now. We'll call you in about three weeks to do a blood test."

"Thank you."

She slowly gets off the bed and dresses. She looks in the mirror by the door to see herself in shambles, pieces. She breaths in and out, hoping to calm herself. She grabs a paper towel and wipes away the mascara that has run and finally all her tears are gone. The redness and puffiness in her eyes is gone. She's pulled herself together again, just like she has to go almost every morning and every night.

She walks out and Angela is waiting for her with a comforting smile. She walks confidently, trying to not show the mess she was in just moments ago. They get into the car before speaking. Angela, as normal, is the first one of the two to speak.

"Are you okay, sweetie?"

"I am, Angela. I have to wait around three weeks to find out and I find that my patience is already growing thin."

Angela lets out a laugh as she keeps her concentration on the road.

"You will never change, Bren. When you want something you are so impatient and I love it. You sure you can handle all of this? It seems like a lot all at once."

"I have no doubt, besides it helps me to stay busy, it makes it feel like a major piece of my life is not missing. How are you and Hodgins?"

"We're great, awesome, fantastic. It's like we were never apart. I love him so much, Bren, and I think he loves me too."

"Well he would be very stupid to let you go, Ange, you are wonderful."

* * *

><p>At three o'clock Parker and all of his classmates stand outside of the elementary school waiting for their parents to pick them up. His friends Zach and Carson stand with him along with Mary, supposedly the girl he will one day marry. Mary is just like his best friend, though, and she's not like everybody else. When he came back to school, she was the only one who didn't ask why he had healing bruises and about three or four casts. She made him feel slightly normal. When Tyler walks up to them, Parker prepares for a fight but it doesn't happen.<p>

"Dude, Parker, your mom is standing over there."

Parker can not exactly see where he is pointing but it's away from all the parents and that does not surprise him. His mommy always says that if people had to take a test before becoming parents the population wouldn't be in the billions. He says bye to all of his friends and run off. In running he does not look up, instead he just runs to where Tyler pointed.

"Mommy!"

It's then he chooses to look up and terror fills his eyes, but all of his momentum is going forward and he can't stop until he's a foot away from her and she's grabbing him. He's pulling from her, but he's only six and not strong enough to fight much longer. Just as he's about to scream, her hand closes around his mouth. He's biting and clawing and trying to get out of her grasp, to run away anywhere. She brings his body to hers.

"Not who you were expecting, huh Parks? I'm the only parent you have left, though, _bub_."

His eyes grow wide, no one called him that except for his daddy, and the tears start. Her hand comes in contact with his cheek and it silences him as she shoves him into the back seat. Just as Rebecca begins to close the door, he hears _her _voice.

"Parker! Parker!"

She running as the door slams, but his mommy makes it to the car and he hears a defining bang as someone falls. He's too scared to move, so he doesn't. His mommy can take care of herself and she promised to always protect him. She doesn't lie, she's never lied to him before. The door opens and it's her. He scrambles out of the seat and into her awaiting arms.

"Mama! I thought she was going to take me away. Don't let her take me away."

"Shh, no one is going to take you away from me. I've got you. Now I have to get Mrs. Jones down here okay, I'm going to call her."

Somehow while holding the six year old and making sure Rebecca didn't wake up, she managed to get her phone from her pocket and dial the number she needed. She kept a firm grip on Parker as he silently cried into her shoulder. The woman greets her cheerfully from the other end of the phone.

"Hello Mrs. Jones. Look I came to pick Parker up from school today and he was no where to be found. His friends told me that a boy told him that his mom was here to pick him up, it happened to be Rebecca. She tried to take him, she was shoving him into the backseat of her car when I found him.-Well right now? She's unconscious, she tried to fight with me and I fought back.-You'll be here soon?-Alright thank you."

"Mrs. Jones will be here shortly and she's going to require a restraining order on Rebecca so that she can't come anywhere near you. I promised I'd protect you, baby, I don't lie."

"I know, mommy, it was just so scary. I love you."

"I love you too, Parker."

* * *

><p>Finally after what seemed like forever, Mrs. Jones appeared with police officers just as Rebecca woke up. Parker was still in Brennan's arms with no thought of letting go anytime soon. He was still frightened and when Rebecca woke up, Brennan moved further away from her so that Parker did not have to see his biological mother. Attempted kidnapping would be added to her list of crimes that a judge would see. Mrs. Jones finally approached her and Parker after Rebecca was taken away.<p>

"I've filed for a restraining order that a judge will sign, I suggest you meet with Parker's teach so that she can keep a better eye on him when they are laving to go home."

"I scheduled a parent-teacher conference for tomorrow so I will alert her of the current situation. Do you still want to go to soccer practice, baby or do you just want to go home?"

"Soccer, mommy, we have a game this Friday and I'm the best player!"

Brennan smiled at the child in her arms and how his thoughts could quickly shift to something much better than what had gone on just mere minutes ago.

"I'm sure you are, baby. We need to get going. Can you say thank you to Mrs. Jones?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Jones."

"You're very welcome Parker. I'll let you two go, but Dr. Brennan I will be calling to schedule a home visit in a week or two."

"Okay, I'll check our schedule and make sure we're free. Thank you again."

Brennan puts Parker down and he grabs her hand as they walk away from the social worker. Mrs. Jones can only see what good Dr. Brennan has done to Parker. How he seems happier and more content than that scared little boy she met in the hospital bed. She lingers in her spot and watches as Brennan helps Parker into the back seat of the car. She couldn't help but notice how Brennan did not treat Parker as a foster son but instead as just a regular child who was hers.

* * *

><p>Brennan did not feel comfortable leaving Parker at a thirty minute practice by himself, even though he would be surrounded by the coaching staff who knew his current situation. So instead, Brennan and the puppy sat and watched Parker. They had finished his homework when they got home for the Rebecca incident, so all they had to do was take the puppy(who still did not have a name) to the vet. In the practice they scrimmaged and Brennan had to look away every time one of the boys went toward him. However, even though he was smaller than the other boys, he was much faster and stronger. His father would've been proud. Finally thirty minutes are up and he comes running to his mom, he sits next to her on the bleachers and starts petting the dog.<p>

"Did I do good, mommy?"

"You did fantastic, you are easily the best one on the team. You're going to do great of Friday. Thanks mommy! We need to take Molly to the vet right?"

"Is that what you have decided to name her? And yes we do need to get going."

They start walking to the car as Parker chats excitedly.

"Yeah, I was thinking about it in class today and well I just really, really liked it and she looks like a Molly."

They start to drive as her son holds Molly in the back seat.

"Are you being careful with her Parker? She's still a baby, so you have to be careful. She will probably get shots today and then she'll be very tired and want to sleep."

"I'm being careful. Are we almost at the vet's place?"

"We're here."

She pulls into a parking spot. She made an appointment when she got to work after the procedure so she knows a doctor is waiting on them to get there. She gets out of the car and opens the door for Parker. She takes the dog from her son, since they don't have a leash yet, and with the other hand she takes his hand.

Once inside they get in the office, Molly gets weighed and has a needle put in her leg more than once or twice. They buy food and toys at the vet's office. The bill is expensive, but Brennan thinks to herself that it is worth it for Parker to be happy. They also find out that Molly is a full Golden Retriever, which comes as a surprise to Brennan. They go home and eat before both of them sit on the floor of the living room with Molly. Parker grabs the remote and puts on a TV show he won't even watch because he's putting too much attention into Molly.

"Mommy, she's so clumsy."

"That's because she's just a puppy, Parker, and puppies are like small children when you first learned to walk you weren't good at it. But you got better and so will Molly. Come here, Molly!"

The dog comes running to her, stumbling momentarily, making both of her owners laugh.

"Do you think she knows her name mommy?"

"I don't know, why don't you try it? She came for me."

"Come here Molly!"

The dog runs from Brennan to Parker and he lays on his back. The dog attacks his face with kisses, making him squeal in delight. Watching and hearing him makes everything okay. She's glad that this house has become a home and it's thanks to Parker. There's a person that should be thanked as well and he can't be here.

_Thank you Booth._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Finished! Please review guys! Seriously those things are like a writer's drug and without them we are nothing so please review or even favorite the story so that when it is updated you'll be notified! Thank you!**


	8. To stand in your arms

**Disclaimer: Ehh, I really don't own them**

**A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Life definitely happened these past few weeks, I had some major testing going on and there was no time to write this chapter until now. Don't let the beginning part of this discourage you, it gets better. Thanks for sticking with me!**

* * *

><p>It had been three weeks since the artificial insemination and she had yet to look at pregnancy test nonetheless get one done. She knew the procedure had not taken, since she did not have morning sickness or dizzy spells. The general pregnancy symptoms were not there and she, on the inside, was heartbroken to know that she was not carrying Booth's child. Angela had already told her though that some women did not experience the morning sickness or dizzy spells and rationally Brennan knew that, but it didn't change her mind. She would try in a few months after the first holidays she experienced with Parker were over.<p>

To ignore the aching she felt while she was at work she immersed herself in it, she was found buried in bones all the time and while at home she immersed herself in Parker and the puppy. Molly had somewhat been adopted as her baby along with Parker and all her co-workers noticed this but none of them said a word. Well, Angela warned them to not say anything. Brennan was knee-deep in Limbo bones when her alarm went off signaling that it was time to get Molly from home and then go get Parker from school. She cleaned up the bones and put them back in the container. Once on the steps she practically ran into Angela with Jared.

"Jared, what are you doing here?"

"Tempe am I not allowed to come see my nephew?"

She knew that this was a rhetorical question but it did not stop her from answering anyways.

"Of course, if you want to follow me to the house so I can pick up the dog and then you can ride with me to pick him up from school."

"Dog-?"

"Yes, Jared they have a dog."

Angela answered, unable to hide her grin. Brennan was so different now than she was a month and half ago. Of course, it saddened her that this change took place because Booth died, but if he could see her now he'd be so happy. Angela has been amazed by her best friend recently. She has seen her change from a person who cannot deal with others, who was closed off emotionally to this person who readily accepted this little boy as her son and she was creating a family with her son.

"Why is it so surprising that I would have a pet? Parker adores Molly and she is very good for him. Anyways, Ange I will call you later on tonight, maybe you and Hodgins can come over and eat with us. Jared how long will you be staying?"

"I was planning on staying a few nights if that is alright with you, Tempe."

"Of course, the guest room has been made up so you can stay there. Can we go, we're cutting into our time and Parker gets nervous when I'm late to get him."

Jared laughs at how blunt she is. Same old Tempe.

"Sure I'll follow you."

She walks quickly from the room, depositing the gloves she was wearing in the trash can. Jared hears the jingle of her keys as she pulls them from her pocket, he does the same. She's speed walking to her car and her wrist is pulled up to her face multiple times so that she can check the time. Jared can tell that she's really into this whole mom thing and he's actually pretty thankful that he didn't answer the call from the social worker that day. As he gets into his car, he watches her. He could see where his brother's death had affected her. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and a certain glint in her eyes of pain that he had never seen before.

_What have you done, Seeley._

* * *

><p>He parks his car as she runs in to the house. It's large, maybe four or five bedrooms all upstairs, a mud room, a kitchen, and three car garage. But he's just guessing. It's completely gated too which is good since now that Seeley is dead the crime rate will go up again, he knows that for sure. She comes out, carrying this dog. She's golden with brown little paws, obviously this is Molly. The dog continually tries to lick its owners face and every time she squirms with disapproval. It's a cute scene and she notices him as he watches her.<p>

"Why didn't you get in? It's unlocked, I may be late as is."

He glances at her as she puts the dog in the back passenger seat. He slips into the passenger side seat and watches as she strides to her door. She starts the engine back up and pulls out from the house's driveway. She pushes a button and the gate they just exited from closes. The drive to get to Parker's school does not take but five minutes, but he sees a group of parents waiting by the stairs that lead up to the school.

"Do you want me to take the dog?"

He asks her in a low whisper and he's not quite sure why he's whispering. It's just her, it's just Tempe. The girl he's known for what seems like forever even though it's only been a few years. Maybe that's why Parker is so comfortable with her, it's like you look into her eyes and you feel like you're home, no matter what.

"Sure, that'd be great. And Jared her name is Molly."

He gets out and grabs the dog, Molly. He carries her almost like a football but she doesn't seem to mind, she just stays there, content in his arms. He stands next to Tempe, patrolling the area, just in case an unforeseen threat was looming. He guesses that's how he's like Seeley. He needs to protect those closest to him, or else he feels powerless. He watches as the school doors open and a bunch of kids rush through the doorway, but he can pick out his nephew in a heartbeat. His long-ish blond hair and the energy you can just feel surging to you is always Parker.

"Mommy!"

He exclaims and Jared is amazed. She didn't tell him that Parker called her mommy. Sure he knew the general stuff, he'd been living with Tempe for a while and she was nurturing and loving. She practically rescued him from Rebecca, but he was not expecting the mommy comment, no not at all.

"Hi, baby. Do you see who's here?"

Her head leans toward Jared and Parker's mouth makes an 'o'. He jumps from his mother's arms and takes the two steps that it takes to get to Jared and Molly. The small boy grabs onto his uncle's left leg and the uncle in return ruffles his hair affectionately. Even though he didn't get to see his nephew often, he loved him just the same.

"Uncle Jared, did you come to see me and mommy?"

"Mommy and I." Brennan corrects him, gently.

Parker lets out a breath and a piece of his hair goes up with the current. His mother is attempting to teach him correct grammar so it'll be easier for him later on in school. As much as he appreciates it (he even tells her so), sometimes it's frustrating, because not even his teachers correct him that much. Jared smiles at the two as they begin to walk back to the car.

"I did, squirt. I've been thinking about you and Tempe, so I decided a visit was in order. I'm going to stay a few days if that's alright with you, squirt."

The six year old smiles the famous Booth smile and nods.

"It's totally okay with me. Can I have Molly?"

They transfer the dog into Parker's arms and then step into the car. The car ride home questions between Parker and his mom begin such as how his day was and what homework he has, if any since it is Friday. Jared just sits and listens to the back and forth, enjoying every single moment of it. While flipping through his phone, he noticed the date and realized it was getting close to Halloween. Jared remembered that Halloween was usually Booth's holiday and he could only imagine that Tempe had not clue of the holiday's coming.

"Hey, squirt, what are you going to be for Halloween?"

Parker looked stunned at the question and when Brennan stopped at the red light in front of her, she looked back at her son.

"We haven't gone shopping for it, I was just going to skip it this year."

Even Brennan knew that was not the case, he was just trying to make Brennan feel better because she was the one that forgot. She already felt terrible, both Jared and Parker could tell. It was her job as Parker's mother to know these things and to be organized enough to get it done.

"Well, why don't we just go shopping for it now..?"

Jared's proposition seemed to please Brennan, until Molly barked and they all realized their favorite four legged friend would not be allowed to accompany them into any store they choose. None of them desired to leave the puppy in the car considering she was still young and would get afraid to be alone.

"Well I'll stay in the car with Molly and you two can go in."

Jared tells them and Parker does a slight happy dance in the back seat. They pull up to the mall and Brennan and Parker get out. He grabs her hand before she has to ask and they walk together through the parking lot and into the mall. The first place they see is a costume shop and even though Halloween is only a few days away they still have an abundance of costumes.

"What would you like to be for Halloween, Parks?"

"I wanna be Superman, mommy! Can I please be Superman?"

She smiles down at him as he pulls at her hand, practically dragging her in a small circle.

"Of course you may. Let's see if we can find one, okay?"

A few minutes later they find exactly what they are looking for and Brennan is pleased to find that they have a Superman costume in his size. They purchase this along with a few bags of candy and a pumpkin bag for Parker's candy.

"Thank you, mommy!"

"You're very welcome baby."

They walk through the parking lot together and Parker shows his uncle his costume once he buckles his seat belt as Tempe begins to drive. They pull up to the house and Tempe closes the gate so Molly is free to run around with Parker chasing her. Parker's laugh is so happy and he just has this huge smile on his face as he rolls around with Molly. It makes Jared happy to see what Tempe has done for his nephew. For a few moments Jared stands there, right next to the car and watches. That is until Brennan calls for Parker to come in for an afternoon snack.

"Mommy can we have apple slices…Oh with caramel?"

"Sure, you can. Jared would you like some apple slices as well?"

"Yes, please, Tempe."

They sit and stand around the island as Brennan cuts apple slices for both Parker and Jared. She takes out the squeezable caramel from the fridge and squirts a small amount on each plate.

"Thanks mommy!"

"Yeah thanks Tempe."

She smiles.

"You're both very welcome."

For a moment everything is okay and the moment actually feels normal, but this is before Brennan pales and her knuckles turn bleach white from hanging on to the edge of the island so hard so that she doesn't collapse. Both Booth boys are up and on either side of her, the older one holding her up and the younger one looking quite concerned.

"Mommy, are you okay?"

She blushes from embarrassment and quickly pulls herself from her son's uncle. It takes a few seconds, but finally she is steady and has gained enough of her voice back to supply a needed answer.

"Of course I am, I haven't eaten in a while so I should-"

"Here mommy, you can have my apple slices."

He shoves the plate her way and she smiles at him.

"That's okay, sweetheart, I'll cut my own. You go sit back down, both of you."

Carefully she cuts another apple and eats it, juice splatters on the countertop from all three of them and she wipes it away with a paper towel.

"Mommy, I'm done."

She looks at her son, the small amount of caramel she gave him to dip his apple slices in somehow ended up all over his face.

"Come here, baby."

She lifts him up and sits him on the countertop. She opens the drawer beside her and grabs a wash cloth from it. She puts a dime sized squirt of soap on it and them wets the rag. She gently wipes the area around his mouth and then kisses his forehead after she is finished. Then she helps him off the counter even though he really didn't need to be helped.

"Can I show Uncle Jared my room?"

"Of course you can. Show him the guest room too so he can put his bags up."

"Okie dokie, mommy."

The two boys start to walk away, but Brennan stops them as she speaks.

"Would it be okay with both of you if Angela and Hodgins come over to eat?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Me too."

She smiles as the two boys walk away. Soon she hears the methodical thuds of four feet hitting the floor boards of the steps. Molly, patiently sits beside her however, waiting for instructions on what to do from her master. Brennan smiles and pets her head affectionately.

"Go get Parker, Molls."

The dog runs as quickly as possible to make it to her miniature sized owner. Brennan pulls out her phone and dials Angela's number, knowing that Hodgins will most likely be in the vicinity. Angela's cheerful answer is all she needs at the moment to make her smile.

"_Hey Sweetie!"_

"Hey Ange. We were wondering if maybe you and Hodgins wanted to come over for dinner tonight. It's nothing big, normally on Friday night Parker and I order Thai food."

"_That sounds great, we will totally be there. Order us the normal stuff we used to get please? Hodgins can pay you back when we get there. Shall we say in thirty minutes or so."_

"Sounds good, Ange, see you both then."

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes ago, Brennan called Parker down to set the table while calling the Thai place to get their order in. Ten minutes ago the Thai people delivered the order and Parker had to restrain Molly because a person at the door made her want to protect Brennan. And five minutes ago, Angela and Hodgins arrived to eat.<p>

"Jared, Angie told me you came into town. How are ya man?"

Hodgins and Jared shared a man hug, which was just a pat on the back for the two of them.

"I'm doing good, Hodgins. Parker gave me a tour of the entire house and part of the property. Thanks for doing this for them. Tempe seems so happy and I know it's partially thanks to you."

"It was really no problem, man, I needed to know they were safe and this place is as safe as it gets. Plus the neighborhood is great and it's about five minutes away from work and the school. It was a perfect fit, I thought."

The women watch the exchange for a second before moving on to get drinks ready. Parker is told to feed Molly, which he does willingly. Finally everything is prepared and they all sit down at the table for dinner. Brennan helps Parker pour his food from his box so that he does not make a mess.

"Thanks, Bones."

Brennan's eyes widen in surprise. He hasn't called her Bones since the day Booth died, since he was last abused. Angela studies the two, she is also extremely surprised while the boys are at the end of the table talking about conspiracy theories. Brennan feels like she is about to cry but holds it in, it feels like she's losing her son and she doesn't understand why. Was it because she forgot about Halloween? Because she didn't get his costume until today? What did she do to deserve that?

"Parker, why did you call her Bones?"

Angela asks him, because she can tell that Brennan is not capable of speaking at this moment. She's confused just like Brennan. Parker hadn't called her that in such a long time, she had almost forgot that nickname. But now it was back and neither of them knew why. Parker is silent, he's afraid he did something wrong, that he's going to get yelled at and then hit.

"Parker, sweetheart, you're not in trouble, I just want to know why you called me Bones. You haven't called me that in a very long time."

"Because I thought maybe you missed being called that like I miss being called 'bub'."

"Oh sweetheart, it's okay. Would you like me to call you 'bub'?"

"No, it's okay mommy. I think I just miss daddy…"

Brennan smiles sadly at her son. She knows how hard this is, she lost both of her parents and then her brother and that was terrible. But Parker is only six and he doesn't know how to deal with these kind of things yet, at least that's what Sweets says. That's why she took him before the foster care system could.

"You wanna know a secret, Parks? I miss him too."

The rest of dinner is relatively quiet and afterward Parker goes to take a bath while the adults sit in the living room and talk. Things turn more serious as the topic is Parker.

"How is he really doing, Tempe?"

Jared, who hasn't seen his nephew since before Seeley died, needs to know this. He needs to know how long he needs to stay and if he needs to be a more driving force in his young nephew's life. Sure, that's how it should've been since the beginning. He should've spent Christmases and Thanksgivings and Halloweens with the boy, but he hadn't. Jared was a free spirit and he truly didn't like to be tied down for too long.

"He's okay, he's getting better. He has nightmares, a lot. He's slept with me in my bed a lot more than he's slept in his own. But I've taken him to Sweets a few times and he says that Parker is okay, it'll just take time as Sweets and I both know."

"Wait, Sweetie, you took him to Sweets? You don't believe in psychology. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. And no I still don't believe in psychology, but I was desperate to help Parker somehow and Sweets was the only option. His grades have not been adversely affected, so I take that as a sign that all is alright with him. It would be nice, though, Jared if maybe you would stay in DC for a while so Parker has someone he's known since birth near by."

"I'll start working on that, if he needs me I'll stay."

They all hear footfall and soon Molly is running into the living room with Parker not too far behind. His hair is even longer now because it's wet and Jared notices the content smile his nephew is wearing. It's great to finally see him like that. He cuddles in between Angela and Brennan, but lays his head on his mom's shoulder. By now, she knows he's tired and his schedule (the one she made for him) dictates that he go to bed earlier tonight and later tomorrow. She checks her watch and notices it is right around nine o'clock, his normal bed time.

"Baby, it's time for bed, come on say good night to everyone and I'll come tuck you in."

"But mommy, I wanna stay up, please. Aunt Ange and Hodgins and Uncle Jared are here, please let me stay up."

"Nope, come on. You'll see Uncle Jared tomorrow and I bet we can do something with Ange and Hodgins this weekend at some point. Let's go."

"But mom-"

"Squirt, listen to your mom. I'll see you in the morning."

He hangs his head low and then says goodnight to every one. Brennan and he start to walk up the stairs and they both notice Angela is following. They continue to walk up the steps, but once they get to the top they look at her.

"I'll be in your room, Sweetie. Night Baby Booth, sleep tight."

She kisses the top of his head and then goes to the end of the hallway where Brennan's room is. Once Parker is situated in his bed, Brennan pulls the covers up and turns on his night light. She kisses his head and pushes some of his hair out of his face.

"I love you, Parker. If you need anything, come get me, okay?"

"Okay, mommy. I love you too."

She smiles at him then turns out his light and closes his door until there is only a small crack left. She then calmly walks to her room and as soon as she closes her door, Angela throws something at her. She bends over to pick it up off of the ground and is surprised to see what it is.

"Angela what is this?"

"Come on Sweetie, you know what it is. You're a genius remember? Go pee on it now."

"Ange, I'm not pregnant, there's no way I am."

"I'm so doubtful of that Sweetie, go pee on it now, please, just do me a solid."

"A solid-?"

"A favor, Sweetie, a favor."

Brennan looks down at the box and then up to Angela. Things could drastically change with a plus sign shown on this stick and possibly she's scared. Even though she wants a baby, she wants to have her own piece of Booth that she can share with Parker. But she's still afraid. Booth isn't here, he's not here to help her and to guide her like she knows he would've if this had happened a year or so ago. She feels Angela grab her hand and she knows her best friend is trying to be reassuring. But she wants Booth, she needs Booth.

"I'll be right back."

"Okay, Sweetie, I'm right here waiting."

She closes the door to her bathroom and runs the sink water so that Angela can't hear her hyperventilating. She's afraid, but she knows she has to. She can't keep living like this. Parker asks her almost every night if she's pregnant, but she can never give him an answer. She needs to be able to, she needs an answer herself. So she does what the instructions say and then sets the timer for two minutes because that will be how long it takes.

"Booth, I wish you were here, with Parker and I. He needs you and so do I. How do I raise our child, possibly our children if the insemination took? Parker is a little boy, I don't know anything about little boys except for the ones that used to be on our autopsy tables. I don't want to mess him up Booth. I'm going insane, you can't hear me, there is no afterlife…."

The timer sounds, signaling that two minutes is up and it's time to look at the test. Instead she stays seated, resting her entire body on the edge of her bath tub. Her fear makes her entire skeleton shake and she starts to feel nauseous again. Slowly, she pushes herself up off of the floor and makes the few timid steps it takes to get to the sink.

Finally, she grabs the stick that will reveal her destiny.

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><p><strong>Sorry guys for the cliffy, next chapter you will know for sure. Thanks for sticking with this story. And I'm sorry again for not updating for a long time.<strong>


	9. Without falling to your feet

**Disclaimer: I don't own them, sadly. I even called up Hart to ask, but he said no, because he's a meanie.**

**A/N: Halloween chapter, hope you guys enjoy. Oh and I just wanted to say thank you to Jenntte, mendenbar, Laura, and Becky for reviewing. You guys are great. If you're reading please R&R. Reviews make me happy. Happy New Years guys!**

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><p>Halloween was on a Saturday this year and since last night Parker out right refused to take the costume off. Brennan worried that Mrs. Jones would not find his antics funny when she showed up for a brunch meeting to discuss how Parker was and to sign the adoption petition so that it could go to a judge. Brennan had woken up early to make sure everything was spotless even though she had never seen a space she occupied dirty. Mrs. Jones planned on arriving at the house at ten thirty and she planned on waking Parker thirty minutes before hand. Soon that time had come so she put Molly in her space that they had made in a spare room attached to the living room and walked up the stairs to wake him.<p>

Before she could make it to his door, a wave of nausea over comes her and she runs quickly to the guest bathroom. She there deposits most of her breakfast and for some time she cannot find the strength to get off of the bathroom floor. It had been a week since Angela brought her the pregnancy test, she had already been to the doctor who told her that she was a month and a half along. She had not told Jared, who had found an apartment a few minutes from the house, or Parker. Angela was the only one who knew. She figured that Parker would be the one who deserved to know next, since he was the baby's sibling. She planned on doing it today after Jared brought him back from trick or treating. The nights were the worst. Dizzy spells usually happened more frequently at night so she tried to stay in one place and not move too much to contain the spells.

She finally gets up off the floor, rinses out her mouth, and checks her watch. She just killed ten minutes right there so quickly she walks to Parker's door and opens it. She sees his Superman costume lying on the floor and she figures he must have grown tired of it at some point last night. She picks it up and folds it, laying it in his desk chair. She opens his blinds and lets the sun shine through. She hears him groan and the covers are automatically pulled above his head. She chuckles to herself. Parker is not a morning person, just like his father. It still amazes her how 'Boothy' he really is.

"Nope, come on, baby. Mrs. Jones will be here in twenty minutes, we need to get you dressed."

"I wanna sleep, mommy!"

She yanks the covers off of him and starts tickling his sides, his laughter fills the room. Soon she starts to laugh too because she loves the way his laugh sounds and the way his eyes close half way when he is happy. She can only think about what a great big brother he'll be to the child she is now carrying.

"Do you surrender? Come on, tell me baby, do you surrender?"

"Yes, I surrender, mommy! I'll get dressed, I'll get dressed."

She stops tickling him and opens up his closet door. And she feels as he comes to stand next to her. She picks out three different shirts for him to pick out and she informs him that he can wear jeans. He goes to his bathroom with the clothes and brushes his teeth and hair while Brennan goes downstairs to cut up fruit and to make sure Molly is okay in her pen. When she is content with everything she checks the time and notices Mrs. Jones would be arriving soon.

"Parker, are you ready? Mrs. Jones should be here any minute now!"

Simultaneously as Parker's feet hit the bottom step of the staircase the doorbell rings signaling the arrival of the social worker. Brennan smiles at Parker as she opens the door.

"Mrs. Jones, it's nice to see you, please come in."

The woman walks in and Brennan and Parker lead her to the kitchen where the food is set up to eat and there are plates and silver wear set up. Mrs. Jones, as she takes a seat, notices that Parker almost immediately sits in Dr. Brennan's lap. She watches as Brennan pours some fruit and butters a piece of toast for him before putting it on his plate. She likes to see when a foster parent treats their foster kid like a real kid, because she's seen cases where that does not happen. She eats some of the fruit and other things on the tray before speaking.

"So, Dr. Brennan, how have things been going in regard of Parker?"

"I think they have been fantastic. He is on a normal schedule now, his grades are up, he is playing soccer now and I believe he plans on playing baseball in the spring. My work schedule is perfectly malleable to accommodate for him, in fact since he has been with me my work days end at three instead of five so that I can spend time with him."

Mrs. Jones nods and writes down something in her booklet that she's holding. Parker wonders about her, and what she's writing, but instead of asking he sticks a piece of strawberry in his mouth and ignores the urge. He does not want to mess up whatever is going on right now. He noticed before how Mrs. Jones only comes around when something is going wrong, but nothing is wrong here. Does she know that?

"Dr. Brennan, I'm going to need a few moments alone with Parker and then this meeting should be adjourned and I can process the adoption papers."

Brennan nods and stands up with Parker still in her arms and places him in the chair she once occupied. She notes of the fear in his eyes, she's gotten extremely good at reading him. He doesn't like strangers and even though he's seen Mrs. Jones on several occasions it doesn't make him any less scared.

"Baby, it's okay, I'll just be in the next room with Molly, okay? And when you're done, I'll come right back."

"Okay, mommy."

She kisses his forehead and then walks into the other room where Molly's space is. She worries about her son, even though she knows he's safe with Mrs. Jones, she just always worries about him. She sits with Molly, petting her with one hand while the other rests gently on her abdomen as she waits to be let back into the room.

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><p>Parker sits as still as possible as Mrs. Jones gets her notes in order. He wants this to be over all ready, because being with Mrs. Jones makes him think about the time he spent in the hospital. Which makes him think of Drew and his old mom. He doesn't like thinking about that time anymore, it makes him sad, just like thinking about his daddy which also makes him sad.<p>

"So, Parker, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing good. It really scared me when my old mom tried to take me back, but mommy promised she wasn't gonna let me be taken so I'm okay."

"Has Dr. Brennan been a good mommy to you?"

"Mhmm, she's a really good mommy, the best really. She's never let me be late for school and she's never been late for picking me up from school. She always takes me to soccer practice on time and that means I never have to run extra. And when I have nightmares, I know I can go get her and she won't be mad. Oh and, and she loves me lots, she tells me so."

Mrs. Jones smiles and nods at him.

"That sounds really good, Parker. So you wouldn't mind living with Dr. Brennan until you're a big boy?"

"No, I wouldn't mind! I'd love that, that's where I want to be. I wanna be here with mommy."

"Okay, well I'll make sure this is where you stay, I promise. Now will you show me out please?"

"Sure Mrs. Jones."

He walks her to the door and then calls for his mommy to come and say goodbye. She comes walking in, her black clothing now covered with golden dog hair.

"Thank you so much for your time, Dr. Brennan. I will sign these papers and get them processed as quickly as possible. I will then call you to give you the court date."

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Jones. We will see you soon, hopefully."

Mrs. Jones walks out the door and Parker closes it behind her then he turns back to his mommy.

"Go get your costume on, please. The squints and I have a surprise for you at th Jeffersonian."

His eyes get wide and he runs upstairs. She lets Molly out of her area and then she goes to the kitchen to get the candy bowl ready for tonight. She pours four bags of candy in two separate bowls. She plans on putting them at each end of the gate so that she doesn't have to constantly open the door tonight because she knows it will frustrate Molly. Parker runs into the kitchen with his Superman costume on and he's carrying his candy bag with him.

"You ready to go, sweet heart?"

"Yes!"

She gets him in the car and drives them to her place of work. She notices how excited Parker looks when he doesn't even know what the surprise is. She knows at this point it doesn't even matter to him, he's just happy to be with her people-their people- her and Booth's people- his squints. Together they walk into the Jeffersonian and all of the squints yell 'surprise'.

They had decorated the entire area in Halloween decor. In each office there was a specific candy station and Angela had even decorated her and Hodgins' office as a G-rated haunted house. Parker couldn't believe it, he had never seen the lab like this.

"Do you love it, Baby Booth?"

Angela asks him, even though she can see his excitement written on his face.

"Yes! Mommy, can I go look around?"

"Of course you can, go have fun."

She smiles as all of the squints follow Parker to wherever his destination will be. She sits on the stairs that lead up to the platform and looks around at the details. There are skulls hanging in different location plus Hodgins let some of his bugs free in different areas and they're crawling around. She remembers the last Halloween she celebrated, she still has the costume. She was Wonder Woman and Booth pretended to be a 'Squint'.

_The lab is dark and empty as they both enter. The doors open automatically for them and she examines him further. He looks terrible, but then again so does she. But Geller is dead and the girl is safe, that's all that really matters._

"_Where is everybody?"_

_It's an obvious question, but she asks anyways._

"_At the party, I guess."_

"_Well, we could still go, we're in costume already."_

"_Bones, we look like hell, probably even worse than hell."_

_She was not sure how that was even possible, but if it was they would be the definition of it._

"_It's a Halloween party, Booth. We could be Wonder Woman and, what is Superman's secret identity again?"_

_She watches as he searches his shirt's pocket for something. He grins, his dimples coming out. When she sees him pull out those glasses she can't help but let out a small chuckle. He puts them on and she shakes her head. His claim of being a Squint is incorrect, none of them wear glasses like that._

"_Clark Kent."_

"_Yes, we could be Wonder Woman and Clark Kent after a really, really bad date."_

_She sits on the steps that lead up to the platform while he remains standing._

"_Yeah, a really bad date because you shot me."_

"_It was only a flesh wound and you dropped me on my head."_

"_After you shot me. I seriously think I got you on this one. Okay Wonder Woman?"_

_He sits down next to her and lets out a heavy sigh._

"_I'm sorry you had to kill someone."_

_She knew how much he hated that, how it killed him inside. She knew, she could see it on his face. He was adding Geller to his list of names and that hurt her because if hurt him. She hated seeing him like this, so down on himself when he was saving her life. Like he had done many times before._

"_He had it coming."_

"_You hate it, I know that. I'm still sorry it happened to you."_

"_We saved the girl. That's a pretty good date."_

"_Except not really a date."_

"_I know. It was….."_

"…_Work. Not a date."_

"_Really, really hard one."_

"_And we're not really Wonder Woman and Clark Kent. We're Brennan and Booth."_

She sighs to herself. Because now in this moment all she hoped to be was Wonder Woman again if it meant she could have her Clark Kent back. He was all she wanted back. So that they, Booth, Bones, Parker, and this new baby, could be a big family. She still doubted her ability to be a mother to two children. She needed Booth. She needed Booth to be her teacher like he was before, because that was his job. He was supposed to teach her things that books and professors could not and he had done an excellent job of it.

"Mommy!"

He comes running into her arms and she smiles at him so she doesn't show how surprised she is. Angela comes running behind him along with Hodgins, Wendell, Cam, and Sweets. She gives him a kiss on the cheek and then looks at her people. She's so thankful for them and the little boy in her arms. If it were not for them, she would not have survived these past months without her partner, best friend, and the man she's beginning to realize she loved.

"Did you have fun?"

"Yes, look at all the candy Wendell gave me! Aunt Angie made him stop but he was gonna give me more. And..and Uncle Hodgins' office was all decorated it was so cool! And Auntie Cam yelled at him for all the buggies cause they got in my shoes."

She wrinkles up her nose at the thought but smiles as she see Cam apologize to Hodgins, mainly because Cam had no clue that Parker heard her. Angela just kept smiling because next year there would be a little pumpkin baby along with Parker and she just could not wait to spoil both of those kids rotten.

"What do you say, Parker?"

"Thank you so much. Trick or treating tonight won't be as much fun as this."

"Oh sweetie, Jared called me, for whatever reason he couldn't get you on your phone. Anyways, he asked for you to feed Parker dinner so he wouldn't have to worry about his dinner being candy and that he's be around your house at seven to get him."

By seven it would be dark and at first that really worried Brennan, but she knew Parker wouldn't go anywhere and that Jared would take good care of him.

"Thank you. All of your actually. I should probably get Parker home so that we can play with Molly so she'll be calm tonight. Say goodbye to everyone Parker."

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><p>Parker and Brennan ate around thirty minutes before Jared was scheduled to come pick him up. Then he got dressed and put all the candy from the Jeffersonian away so that it would not just sit out. Brennan warned him to only take the small candy so that the candy would not go to waste. The door bell rang exactly at seven, luckily Parker was completely ready to go. Brennan gave him a kiss, told him to be careful and then made sure Jared understood to not lose sight of his nephew.<p>

"Alright Squirt, let's go. I have your jacket so if you get cold just tell me, okay?"

"Uncle Jared, I'm Superman, I don't get cold, duh."

The first few houses went well, however the tenth house made Jared feel a bit uneasy. Mainly because it had a long, dusky path leading up to it that was lined by bushes. It gave Jared the creeps, but he decided to go against his feelings and take Parker to it anyways. He's sure it'll be okay.

Before he knows what's happening, these teenage boys are jumping out in front of them and yelling and screaming. They spray something at them and before Jared knows it Parker is missing from his side. The bag of candy is dropped next to his feet. His breath becomes heavy. Where did Parker go? He didn't even hear him scream.

"You idiots! My nephew is six and he has a history of being abused. Now he's run off and it's freezing out here. You better hope I find him."

The boys don't say anything as Jared pulls out his phone and calls Tempe.

_"Jared, are you on you're way back? It's beginning to get late and even though I know Parker is probably having fun he needs to go to-"_

"Tempe, you need to listen to me. I'm at 123 Maple Drive. It's about two blocks from your house. Parker got scared and he ran away. I don't know where he is."

The phone goes dead and he knows she's on her way. He goes searching around for his nephew. He needs to find Parker. It's dark and cold and his nephew is little and alone. He needs to be found. Now.

"Parker! Parker it's okay, come out, we'll go home. Come on! Parks!"

He looks at the teenage boys that scared Parker.

"What are you four doing? Help me!"

They all start calling his name and they spread out to the back yard and the surrounding houses' yards. They can't find him anywhere, there is no sign of him. Jared is getting scared. What if someone took him? People get kidnapped all the time at Halloween because masks are normal. If Parker is gone, he'll die inside. His nephew is all he has left of Seeley, he needs Parker, Parker is a lifeline. Brennan's car pulls up and she runs to Jared.

"Tell them to be quiet."

It's not a question, it's a direct, harsh command.

"Guys, shut up!"

"Parker, come here, baby! It's okay, I'm here."

Parker comes out of nowhere and flies into his mommy's arms. He was hiding under the porch of one of the houses. Brennan could tell he had been crying by the streaks going down his cheeks. She kisses his cheek and tells him that it will all be okay. The teenage boys apologize to Brennan and Parker. She continues to glare at them, until she decides it is time for them to go home.

"I'm so sorry, Tempe. I should have not gone on the path the second I had a bad feeling about it. I shouldn't have let him out of my sight. I'm so so sorry. I really am. I'll do better next time, I'll be better for him."

She looks at him as she closes Parker's door so that he can't hear their conversation.

"He is your nephew, he depends on you and he loves you. I trusted you with my son today and believe me that is not easy for me to do, because he is my entire life. I trusted you with him and you failed, Jared. I don't know if I can give you a 'next time'."

"But Tempe he's my nephew."

He follows her as she walks to her side of the car so she can get in and drive.

"He's my son! And you almost lost him tonight. What if he had been kidnapped, huh? You know Booth had enemies and so do I. What if they wanted to take him to get back at me? They could've if they wanted to and it would've been on you Jared. He's all I have. He's the last part of Booth and I promised to keep him safe. Look I'll call you later and we'll see if you can come over. I need to get Parker to bed."

He looks at her with defeat in his eyes and just nods his head before walking away.

"Mommy is Uncle Jared in trouble?"

"Don't you worry about Uncle Jared, Parker, he'll be okay. Let's get home."

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><p>She finds herself laying in his bed with him tonight. She holds him close and just cuddles with him, he doesn't mind. Instead he finds being loved makes him so happy and no matter what he does his mommy will never hit him and that's comforting to him.<p>

"Parker, remember how a few months ago I had that procedure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it worked and in about seven months you'll have a new baby sibling."

"Really?"

He turns to her and she sees the excitement playing on his features. Soon the excitement falls though and he looks forlorn.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"Will you love this baby more because it lives in your tummy and I never did?"

"No, no, no. Never, Parker. This baby may live in my tummy and yes I love it, but as its mother I have to love it, there is no choice for me. But with you, Parker, I chose to love you, from the day I met you and you called me Dr. Bones and you held my hand, I loved you. And guess what? Now you're mine, just as much as this baby. So no, you and your sibling will be loved equally. And I will always make time for you, okay? You are so important to me now and that will continue, forever. And you know what, you have a special job."

"What's my special job?"

"Well this baby and you share the same daddy biologically. So when the baby gets older you'll have to tell her or him all about your daddy. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can do that, I'm going to be the best big brother mommy, I promise."

"I know you will be, baby boy. It's time for bed. I love you. Good night, sweet heart."

"Night mommy, I love you too."

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><p><strong>Did Bren do good in explaining how she'll love Parker and the baby equally? Was she right in yelling at Jared? Are you guys still reading this? Please R&amp;R to tell me your thoughts :)<strong>


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